Never in a Million Years
by GossipGirlHere
Summary: Victoire Weasley and Teddy Lupin. Two best friends; cocky, smug, smart, and, as many people say, made for eachother. Can they get through their last year at Hogwarts together in one piece? Never in a million years.
1. The Depths of Despair

**So, Teddy and Victoire Weasley are the only next-generation couple that J.K. specifically mentioned, and they fascinate me, so I decided to try my hand at a Teddy/Victoire fic. So, I give you the first chapter, _The Depths of Despair_:**

"Ugh!" Victoire Weasley, the oldest of the Weasley cousins, and currently a drop-dead gorgeous, strawberry-blond haired, blue eyed, five foot seven sixth year, flopped onto her bed in the Gryffindor sixth year girls dormitory in what she currently believed to be the depths of despair.

"Oh, come on Vic, stop being so dramatic!" Her best friend, Claire, wasn't as sympathetic as Victoire believed she ought to be. "It's not _that_ bad! He knows you have siblings!"

"It was the most humiliating moment of my existence!" cried Victoire into her pillow, not even looking up at the petite brunette who was sitting on the bed beside her.

"He's not going to take anything Louis said seriously, Vic, because no one can take _anything_ the kid says seriously! He's an eleven year old menace and _everyone _knows it, including Michael." Michael, Victoire's boyfriend, whom she'd been dating for not even a week, had been assaulted by Victoire's younger brother, Louis, who proceeded to tell him any and all of the embarrassing stories about Victoire that he could remember.

"But he was actually telling the _truth_ this time!" said Victoire, still to her pillow.

"Yes, but nobody _knows_ that, Vic, _relax_."

"I can't believe it! He's only been at Hogwarts two bloody weeks, and he's already managed to ruin my life!" said Victoire, sitting up, "I don't suppose I still have time to go to Ravenclaw Tower to see Michael?"

"I'm afraid not," said Claire, "Curfew's in two minutes."

"Damn," muttered Victoire, before bouncing off of the bed and saying, "Well, I'm going downstairs then."

"Vic, _please_ don't kill Louis."

"Don't worry, Claire, I'm not going to kill Louis. At least, not _tonight_. I'm gonna go look for Teddy."

It was Claire's turn to flop onto the bed in despair.

"Listen, Claire, I_ know_ you don't like him, though I won't pretend to understand _why_, but he's my best mate, and-"

"I thought _I_ was your best mate!" said Claire indignantly.

"You're my best girl friend," said Victoire seriously, "But no one's my best friend like Teddy is."

"But, he's just so..." Claire seemed unable to come up with strong enough words to say exactly what Teddy was, "He's so cocky, so arrogant, so-"

"Like me?" said Victoire.

"Yes!" said Claire, "Only not as endearing."

"Maybe that's why we're best friends. Anyway, he's not exactly like me. He's much funnier. I reckon he's just as smart as me, but he's definitely more clever, I mean, he's able to make wittier jokes and stuff, and-"

"_Please_ not another speech about how amazing Teddy Lupin is!" moaned Claire, still flat on her back on the bed, "Honestly, the way you two get on, I don't understand how you aren't dating _him_. I mean, I'm not complaining, believe me, I think he's absolutely vile, if you must know, but-"

"Me and Teddy? Are you crazy?" demanded Victoire, her hands on her hips. "What on Earth makes you say that?"

"Well, you guys have been friends for ages, and you are basically obsessed with eachother, and-"

"We are _not_ obsessed with eachother!" asserted Victoire, running a hand through her long, straight, strawberry-blond hair in frustration.

"I wish you wouldn't do that!" said Claire, sitting up.

"Do what?" asked Victoire distractedly.

"Run your hand through your hair. You look like him when you do that, the git."

"You're impossible!" groaned Victoire, throwing her hands up in frustration and turning on her heel, walking out of the dormitory without another word.

Victoire searched the common room for a minute or two, but, having deduced that Teddy wasn't there, she returned to the dormitory, and tried to ignore her best friend's snide comments about her other best friend.

* * *

Teddy ran his hand through his sandy blond hair impatiently, looking at his best friend, Matt, in disgust.

"You can _not_ be serious!" he said incredulously, "You just can't! She has a _boyfriend_, and even if she didn't, if you think I'd let you-"

"'Let me'?" said a dark-haired, blue eyed boy, who was sitting on his four-poster bed in the Gryffindor seventh-year boy's dormatory, with his best friend, the sandy-haired, hazel-eyed, six foot four Teddy Lupin standing accusingly in front of him. "So you _do_ like her! Ha! I knew it!"

"Who said I liked her?" asked Teddy angrily, "I do, but not _that _way! She's my best mate, which is why I wouldn't let _you_ go out with her!"

"Don't worry your little head over it, I don't want to," said Matt with an eye-roll, "I don't want to, but it's obvious that if I had you'd have thrown a fit, which proves that you're _totally_ into her!"

"How could I be into her?" asked Teddy, sitting down on his own four-poster, "We've known eachother since before she could walk."

"Exactly," said Matt, in a smug, satisfied tone, "You were made for eachother. You're basically the same person, her family loves you and your family loves her, well you've basically got the same family, so that's perfect, you have the same mannerisms, the same smug, cocky attitude, and don't even _try_ to deny it, you're both pretty bright, and you're both totally into eachother."

"I guarantee," said Teddy firmly, "Never in a million years will Victoire Weasley _ever_ be into me!"

Matt merely rolled his eyes, "You'll see. It's _bound_ to happen eventually and then you'll be forced to admit that _I_ was right and _you_ were wrong. You mark my words!"

"You really are a git, you know that," sighed Teddy.

"And that's why you love me!"

**So, that was the first chapter. I _love_ reviews, so please leave me one, because it helps me get inspired for future chapters, and, if you've read me before you'll know this, if I'm inspired I'll get updates out within days or even hours of eachother, but if I'm not it will take _weeks_.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	2. Of PrettyBoys and WishyWashy Girls

**Merry Christmas! My Christmas present to all of you is another update (uploaded _really_ fast, might I add). I'm really pleased with how this story is going, and I hope everyone reading it is just as interested after this chapter as they were after the first.**

"So, how's pretty-boy Michael?" asked Teddy as he sat down next to Victoire at the Gryffindor table the next evening at dinner.

Victoire hit him on the arm and said angrily, "Don't call him that! He happens to be _very_ intelligent and sophisticated."

She took a bite of mashed potatoes, looking smug, until Teddy said, "_Sure_. Come on, Vic, we all know that you can do better than _that_!"

"You, you mean?," muttered Matt, who had just sat down next to Teddy, who elbowed him hard in the ribs as Victoire said, "What did you say, Matt?"

"Nothing," said Teddy firmly, "He was just being an idiot, as usual."

"Oh, so nothing new then," said Victoire dismissively as Teddy snickered appreciatively.

"So, Vic," said Teddy, "We've got Quidditch practice tonight, but I was wondering if you were up for some exploding snap before that?"

"I can't," said Victoire, "I'm going on a walk with Michael by the lake."

Teddy rolled his eyes, "How _romantic_ he said scathingly."

"What would you know?" said Victoire dismissively, "Your idea of 'romantic' is saying 'Hi' and then having a good snog."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Teddy.

"Well, it's not very romantic, it's just pigheaded. No wonder you can never keep a girlfriend for more than a week."

"Why don't _you_ just give me lessons on how to be a boyfriend when I get my next one?" he asked sarcastically.

"It would definitely help you out," she said smugly, "You should be _begging_ for my help."

Teddy rolled his eyes, "Always so cocky, Vic."

"I learned from the best," she retorted smugly, before looking at her watch and saying, "I've gotta go, Michael will be waiting. Bye!" she finished with a smile, signaling that their mock-argument was over, and with a wave she departed.

"How can two people who are so similar find so many things to fight about?" wondered Matt, "It must be that your heads are both so large that they can barely fit in the same room together."

"Oh shut it," said Teddy, elbowing him again.

"Ow!" Matt cried, overplaying the injury, "Abuse is _never_ the answer Teddy."

"With you it's the only method that works," shrugged Teddy dismissively, taking a bite of his steak.

* * *

"You're late Vic!" shouted the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team, Henry Carmichael.

"Sorry, Henry," said Vic, as she mounted her broom, "I lost track of time!"

"So, everything good in paradise?" asked Teddy casually as she flew up to him.

"You're so smug, you know that?" she said irritably.

"It's hard not to be, seeing as I'm around you so much. I learn by example, you see."

Before Victoire could retort Henry said, "Now, we've only got two months before our match against Slytherin, so we need to get training. We've got a great lineup this year, so get flying!"

Teddy soared over to his fellow beater, while Victoire joined her fellow chasers and practice commenced peacefully.

As they headed off the pitch an hour and a half later Victoire said, "You still up for exploding snap, Teddy?"

"Sure," he said, "I'm up for beating you at exploding snap."

"Not a chance," she replied with a smirk.

* * *

"I just don't understand it!" said Claire from her perch on her bed, watching Victoire pour over a book that Teddy had just lent her with his assurance that she would love it.

"Understand what?" asked Victoire absentmindedly, still reading the back cover of the book.

"How two people who argue as much as you do, and you do bicker _all the time_, and who so smug that it hurts, can get along so well. It baffles me."

Victoire shrugged, "I'll never understand why you don't like him, considering he's almost an exact copy of me."

"But he isn't," said Claire, "He's worse!"

"Worse than me?" asked Victoire sarcastically, "I didn't think that was possible! Anyway," she continued more seriously, "We may bicker all the time, but we don't _really_. It's all play, all for fun. I don't remember the last time Teddy and I had a _real_ argument. I honestly don't think we ever have..."

Claire raised an eyebrow skeptically and said, "You two have _never_ had an argument?"

"Nope," said Victoire, popping her 'p' and still looking down at the book in interest.

"Not even about which of you is more amazing than the other?" asked Claire, though now it was obvious she was kidding.

Victoire laughed, looking up, and said, "No, not even about that."

* * *

"So, when are you going to tell her?" asked Matt. They were sitting by the fire in the Gryffindor common room and it was now only two weeks before the match against Slytherin.

Teddy ran his fingers through his hair, agitated, and said, "I don't know. Really Matt, it's not even a big deal"

"If it isn't a big deal then why don't you tell her?" he asked, before muttering, "Damn!" as he toppled a bottle of ink all over his transfiguration assignment.

"Serves you right," said Teddy smugly, while Matt muttered "Turgify!" and restored the parchment to its previous state.

"You still haven't answered," said Matt, "Why haven't you told Victoire about her?"

"Well, it's just that it's weird..." Teddy muttered, running his hand through his hair again.

"I don't see how," muttered Matt, adding another sentence to his essay while Teddy completed his arithmancy assignment, "I mean, she's dating that Michael bloke, who, by the way, you are so _obviously_ jealous of."

"I am _not_," said Teddy with dignity, "Why would I be jealous of him? I'm better looking, smarter, funnier, and plus, I can change my appearance at will! I bet he can't do that!"

"Yeah, but he's got Victoire on his arm every day," Matt smirked, "Which you don't. Well," he amended, furrowing his eyebrow, "You actually _do_, and yet you guys _still_ aren't dating."

"You're impossible," muttered Teddy, running his hand though his hair again, before shoving his homework away from him in disgust and saying, "Vic doesn't like me like that and I don't like her like that, and _yes_, I _will_ tell her about Andrea, okay?"

"Good," said Matt smugly.

Teddy merely rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure why he didn't want to tell Victoire about his new girlfriend, but he just didn't. He was afraid it would somehow make his relationship with Victoire different, though he couldn't see how. Andrea Carmichael was Henry's twin sister, a seventh year just like he was, but a Hufflepuff, not a Gryffindor. She was tall, platinum blond, and extremely friendly. He really did like her a lot, which was part of the reason that he didn't want to tell Victoire about her, because he loved his relationship with Victoire too, and making the two girls aware of eachother seemed like a bad idea in his head, though he couldn't figure out exactly why.

He was so lost in thought that he jumped when Matt spoke again, "She's a little wishy-washy for you though..." he said thoughtfully.

"What?" asked Teddy, looking up, "Who?"

"Andrea," said Matt, "I mean, she's really nice, _really really_ nice and all. Too nice if you ask me."

"I didn't," said Teddy, putting his homework in his bag, and standing up, "Well, I'm going to bed. Night."

"Night," Matt replied, still pouring over his transfiguration essay, but Teddy could've sworn he heard Matt mutter, "Denial..." under his breath.

"Git," muttered Teddy, trudging up the stairs.

**So, I was _really_ inspired after the first chapter, which is why this one is up so quickly (I did warn you about that...) and I hope everyone liked it. The next one's gonna get pretty intense, just warning you. We may only be a month and a half into term but things are gonna get really dramatic really fast, just warning you. Please leave a review, I've gotten so many great ones already and I _love_ getting them!  
**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	3. Dry Eyes

**And we have another chapter! I give you_ Dry Eyes_:**

However many times Teddy tried to tell Victoire about Andrea he just couldn't do it, and it was starting to really irritate him because he could not think of a single reason why he should _not_ tell her. The day of the Quidditch match against Slytherin dawned bright and early, and he sat with Victoire at breakfast, and saw that she was looking nervous.

"What are you nervous for?" he asked, pouring himself some pumpkin juice, "This isn't _your_ last game against Slytherin, now is it?"

"I know," she said, buttering her toast, "But Michael's watching, so I don't want to do poorly."

"I know what you mean," he said without thinking, but by the time his brain was up to speed with his mouth it was too late.

He flinched as she said, "How on Earth do _you_ know what I mean? It's not like you have a girlfriend."

Matt, who was sitting opposite them and talking to his and Teddy's friend Peter, sent Teddy a 'Tell her _now_!' look, but he ignored it and said, rather weakly, "I'm just a very empathetic person."

Claire, who was sitting on Victoire's other side, snorted. He sent her a glare. He had no idea what he did for Claire to hate him, but she clearly did, and he had adopted the attitude of hating her right back.

"What's your problem?" he asked her, losing his temper. He leaned forward so that he could see her around Victoire, who'd frozen, waiting to see if Claire would retaliate, though of course she knew Claire and she knew that was exactly what Claire would do.

"_My_ problem? I don't have a problem," Claire said, leaning forward as well so as to see Teddy better.

"Well clearly you do so spit it out. What about what I just said is funny?" he challenged.

"Nothing," said Claire loftily, pouring herself some milk, "It's just that you're not really the empathetic type, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, and you know what type I am?" he asked, standing up.

"Yes, I do," she replied standing up, "You're the cocky, smug, arrogant-"

"Guys!" shouted Victoire, standing up between them, sparing a moment to send Matt a glare as he sniggered at them from across the table. "Stop it. Come on Teddy," she grabbed his hand and started pulling him away, "We'd better get down to the pitch."

He spared Claire one glare, which she returned, before allowing Victoire to pull him away.

As they trooped across the grounds towards the changing rooms Victoire maintained a stony silence until Teddy said, "Oh, come on, Vic, calm down."

"I hate that you guys do that," she said, banging the door to the changing rooms loudly, "Why do you feel the need to pick a fight with her all the time?"

"Me? _Me_ pick a fight with _her_? That was all her doing and you know it!" he said indignantly.

"Well, she's kind of right about you," said Victoire, getting out her Quidditch robes.

"Well, since we're the same person that also means that _you_ are arrogant, smug, cocky and whatever else she was planning on saying," he said angrily.

Victoire smirked and said, "I know," with a shrug, and Teddy couldn't help but laugh. Part of the reason that they never really argued was because they were just so similar. They found the same jokes funny, the same comments irritating, and so if one of them was done arguing, chances were the other was just as ready for the fight to be over.

"Now," he said, "What do you say we get ready to beat the Slytherin team's ass?"

"It won't be that hard," said Victoire with an easy smile.

"Who said I though it'd be hard?" asked Teddy, grabbing his broom and settling down to hear Henry's pep-talk, "This'll be a breeze."

* * *

Sure enough, an hour and a half later and the Gryffindor team had beaten Slytherin 270 to 150. The team landed, clapping eachother on the back, high-fiving, and hugging happily, before heading off to the changing rooms. When they left the changing rooms they were assaulted by some of their closest friends, Claire, Matt, and Andrea Carmichael among the small crowed.

Victoire searched for Michael before remembering that he had detention starting at 12:30. She hoped he'd not missed the end of the game.

"Teddy!" Andrea cried with a smile, running up to him and kissing him on the lips.

Victoire froze where she was, her eyes narrowed, her hair falling in front of her face, her entire being stiff as she watched the sheer perfection that was Andrea Carmichael kissing her best friend. The wheels in her head were turning rapidly as she attempted to pinpoint a moment where Teddy had told her that he had a girlfriend. Maybe she'd just forgot...she hadn't forgot, and she knew it.

As Teddy and Andrea broke apart Andrea skipped, literally skipped, Victoire noted with disgust, to her twin, giving him a hug and a peck on the cheek. The nauseating cuteness made her stomach turn.

"Teddy," she seethed, her voice a quite whisper that he heard nonetheless. He turned to look at her, his eyes wide in shock when he realized what she had seen.

"Vic," he said, putting his hands up as if in surrender, but she interrupted him before he could say anything else.

"How long?" she asked, her eyes boring into his with an intensity that would've frightened anyone else, but he looked back at her steadily because he was not afraid of her. He knew her too well for that.

"Almost a month," he replied steadily. He refused to look sheepish or guilty, not matter how guilty he felt, and he felt _very_ guilty. They were standing at a normal distance, and anyone standing behind Victoire and looking at them would've though they were only having a friendly conversation. However, anyone who laid eyes on Victoire's face would know that it was really quite the opposite.

"A month," Victoire said, her voice barley above a whisper, and Teddy knew it would be against his best interest to correct her slight inaccuracy. Her voice rose with every word, her arms were crossed as she sent Teddy a look of dire accusation as she spoke. "You've been going out with Andrea Carmichael for a _month_, and you didn't bother to tell me?"

"It's not that I didn't _bother_," said Teddy, thinking carefully before speaking each word, "It just never came up."

"_Never came up_?" she repeated angrily, advancing on him. He didn't move back, but stood defiantly in front of her, glaring right back at her.

"Yes, never came up," he said, his voice rising a little bit too, "Anyway, I'm not required to tell you everything that goes on in my life! You have no right to be upset about me withholding information because this is completely unconnected with you!"

"I'm your best friend!" she said indignantly, "Why didn't you want to tell me?"

"It doesn't matter because it was none of your business," he said.

She took a deep breath, looking from a new angle to argue from. He smirked when she found none, but that smug smirk gave her a new angle to attack from, "Oh wipe that smug smirk off your face!" she spat, "You're such an ass sometimes!"

"Then why are you my best friend?" he challenged, before continuing sarcastically, "Oh, yeah, I forgot for a second that you're smug ass too!"

"I'm not the one who neglected to tell my _best friend_ that I'd been in a committed relationship for a month!" she retorted angrily.

She smiled smugly, and the only reason that neither noticed the distinct similarity her smile had to his was that they were both so angry. She had torn down his argument the same way that he had torn down hers, and now they were left standing there with nothing else to say, but neither moved.

The rest of the team was not oblivious to the scene, and Henry had taken the opportunity to lead Andrea away, her blue eyes open wide in concern, her platinum blond hair falling in front of her face so that she could hide the glances she sent towards her boyfriend and this other girl as her brother led her away. The rest of the team had seen Victoire and Teddy on a roll before, but never in a _real_ argument, and the concept of a real argument between the two frightened them. They left quickly to head to the party that was surely taking place in the Gryffindor common room.

Only Matt and Claire remained, staring at their respective best friends in disbelief. Claire, who only knew Matt as Teddy's best friend, but still managed to like him a great deal more than Teddy (she'd probably like a blast-ended skrewt more than Teddy) asked him, "Why didn't he tell her?" speaking in a whisper so that Teddy and Victoire would not hear.

"Beats me," he said quietly, "I kept telling him to."

They returned to watching Teddy and Victoire, who were both still standing there, about a foot apart, looking at eachother. It was as if a wall was building up between them before their eyes with bricks made of anger, hurt, regret, and betrayal, but neither made a move to stop it. They stared at eachother in a dream-like state, absorbing the first argument they'd ever had in their life, almost calmly, as if they were sitting in the eye of a storm, and waiting for the winds to whisk them away again.

And soon enough they did just that. Victoire, propelled forward by a mixture of emotions, closed the distance between them and slapped Teddy on the face, hard. She then turned, without a word or a glance at anyone present, and walked back up to the castle, her head held high in defiance, her eyes dry.

**I'm not totally sure if I'm %100 pleased with parts of this chapter, so drop a review and let me know. I'm trying to get out another chapter or two before I have to go back to school, because once school starts I've got exams, which is code for 'no time to write'.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	4. Best Friends

**Here we go, a new chapter! Enjoy!**

Victoire spent the next few days seething, but refusing to talk to anyone about what had happened, not even Claire, and refusing point blank to ever speak to Teddy ever again. And she sounded serious.

"Vic, I know that you're mad, but you really should go talk to him. I _hate_ him, but I still almost felt bad for him the way that he's moping around, and you're _miserable_ without him, though God knows why..."

They were sitting by the lake attempting to do their potions assignment, but really just talking about this and that until Claire brought up the forbidden subject of Teddy Lupin.

"I most certainly am _not_ miserable. I don't need Teddy to be happy, obviously," said Victoire with as much dignity as she could muster, even though she knew that what she was saying was lie.

Claire raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh don't you? I'll never pretend to understand it, but it's clear that you can't get by without him, so go and talk to him."

"Oh bugger off," muttered Victoire, but Claire continued, completely ignoring her.

"And what are you mad about anyway? Are you mad that he didn't tell you or mad that he's got a girlfriend?"

"Why would I be mad that he's got a girlfriend?" asked Victoire, a little too quickly, "I mean, what do I care if he goes out with Andrea Carmichael, who just _happens_ to be head girl, totally perfect, gorgeous in a goody-two-shoes type way, and totally _not_ Teddy's type! That's not what I'm mad about, if he wants to make a big mistake that's _fine_. I'm mad because he didn't tell me! _Me_, his best friend in the whole world! Me, who he tells everything, or at least, he _did_. Me, who is just like him in every way, his oldest and most trusted friend!"

Claire couldn't help but think that Victoire was mad about more than just the fact that Teddy didn't tell her, but Claire valued her life to much to say that, and the idea wasn't much to her taste.

* * *

"I feel so guilty," muttered Teddy, running his hand through his hair and sweeping it back out of his eyes absentmindedly, sitting by the fire in the Gryffindor common room two weeks after the Quidditch match, looking morose.

"Really?" asked Matt sarcastically, "I hadn't noticed." Teddy sent him a scowl, to which he replied, "If you're so miserable then go apologize!"

"Are you barking mad?" asked Teddy incredulously, "This might come as a shock to you but I want to live to see my eighteenth birthday! I _know_ Vic, and I know she won't forgive me. At least not for a while, and the only thing an apology would accomplish would be to give me more practice at deflecting hexes and curses."

"You could use some," Matt pointed out with a smirk.

"Shut it," said Teddy, hitting him on the arm, "I've got to finish this transfiguration assignment.

Matt rolled his eyes and said, "Well, I'm off to bed."

"Night," Teddy didn't even look up, but began scribbling on his parchment, pausing only to run his hand through his hair.

When Teddy heard the clock chime midnight he looked around the empty common room slightly surprised. He hadn't been aware that he'd been working that late, but he was almost finished, so he decided to stick it out and finish up.

A few minutes later he heard someone coming down the stairs, and turned his head to see Victoire emerging from the staircase which led to the girls dormitories. She was wearing nothing but a tank top and some sweat pants, her hair pulled back in a pony tail, but messy, as if she'd been sleeping on it. She was carrying some parchment, ink, and a quill.

Though Teddy could see her perfectly from where he sat, he knew that she could not see him, because the armchairs by the fire had very tall backs, and she clearly wasn't looking his way. However, as she headed towards the chairs, her favorite place to sit as well as his, he knew it was only a matter of seconds until she spotted him, and he used those seconds to come up with a plan. Knowing Victoire, he knew she would just turn and stalk off without so much as a word, but maybe Matt was right and he _should_ apologize. At least no one would be around to see him get hexed...

However, he was out of thinking time when Victoire made to sit down in the chair he occupied, only to realize he was there. She glared at him and then, just as he'd predicted, turned on her heel and stalked off.

"Vic! Wait!" he called, standing up. She had almost made it to the staircase but turned and looked at him. She didn't move any closer, but she also didn't move any further away, which he took to be a good sign. She raised her eyebrow quizzically, waiting for him to speak.

"I'm sorry Vic," he began, watching her closely, but she was impassive, "I wish I'd told you about Andrea. I should've, but I just didn't know how to do it, and-"

"Didn't know how to do it?" she asked skeptically, before continuing, "How about just telling me? I told you about Michael, and it didn't turn into a big production. Why didn't you just _tell_ me?"

"I don't know!" Teddy nearly bellowed, "I don't know why I didn't tell you, but I didn't and I'm _sorry_! Can't you just let it go?"

"No, I can not just 'let it go'!" she snapped back, "I don't understand why you don't trust me!"

"Oh, come on, Vic, I _do_ trust you!"

"You don't act like it!"

"Vic, I made a mistake, everyone does it, even _you_, so _please _just let it go!"

"Teddy, I'm sorry," she said, and he was surprised both by her change in tone, she'd stopped shouting, and by what she'd said, "But, I can't really just let this go. You really hurt me, and friends aren't supposed to do that."

She turned and was about to walk upstairs when he said, "Vic, wait!" He didn't even raise his voice, which was pleading, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I miss you."

She turned again, but this time approached him instead of hanging back. "I missed you to," she said quietly, and she hugged him.

They sat down together on the couch that was to the right of the fireplace and set back slightly with its back to the dormitory staircases.

"What were you doing down here anyway?" he asked, glancing at her parchment, quill, and ink, which she'd set on the table.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said.

"I was just finishing my transfiguration assignment," he said, "And you?"

"I couldn't sleep," she said, "So I thought I'd write to Mum and Dad. They haven't heard from me in a while, and they wrote asking if I was okay."

"And what were you going to say?" he asked hesitantly.

"I was gonna say that I was fine," she said, shrugging and looking away.

"And what _are_ you going to say?" he asked, still more cautiously.

"That I'm great."

And she flashed him a smile. At the end of the day they would always be this: best friends.

* * *

Claire woke up at seven the next morning as usual, only to glance at Victoire's bed and find it...empty? She got out of bed and looked in on the bathroom, which was, as she'd expected, empty. Victoire _hated_ getting up early, really hated it, and Claire couldn't understand how she'd be out of the dormitory so early. She dressed quickly and went downstairs, only to run into Matt as she strode into the common room.

"Have you seen Teddy?" he asked while, at the same moment, she asked, "Have you seen Vic?"

They looked at eachother. Teddy, like Victoire, _hated_ waking up, so when Matt found his bed empty and made, he got dressed and went down to investigate.

"Well, they're not here," Matt said slowly, glancing around the seemingly empty common room.

"Let's check downstairs," said Claire, "I hope they're not having at eachother again..."

"I thought you'd be happy," he said, "You _hate_ Teddy."

"I know," she said, "But Vic's been miserable."

"Teddy too," he said as they walked to the portrait hole. They turned around to make one more sweep of the room when their jaws dropped and their eyes widened. Teddy and Victoire were both lying on the couch, Teddy sitting up slightly against the armrest near the edge, and Victoire curled up between him and the back of the couch, both fast asleep.

"They look almost," he said, trailing off.

"Like a couple? Don't make me gag," she said bitterly.

"You don't see it?" he asked, looking at her quizzically.

"I _do_," she said, even more bitter, "That's what scares me."

"He's not a bad bloke," Matt said.

She shrugged noncommittally before saying, "You reckon we should wake them up?"

"Unless we want all of Gryffindor house making assumptions about them..." he trailed off, and couldn't help thinking that it was an intriguing idea.

"No," she said firmly, walking around the couch to the back and leaning over, shaking Victoire's shoulder, "Vic! Get up!"

Matt joined her and began to rouse Teddy, further contemplating the idea of Teddy and Victoire as a couple while Claire tried desperately to get the idea out of her head.

**Hope you guys liked this chapter! Reviews please!**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	5. Girlfriends and Rain

**I'm pretty pleased with this chapter, even if it took a little longer than the others. Enjoy!**

Everything returned to normal for Teddy and Victoire after they made up, but only on the surface. Whenever Andrea was around Victoire would disappear, and if Michael sought Victoire Teddy was the first one out the door. They had come to the silent agreement that they weren't going to talk about their love lives unless to simply say who they were dating. They would each force themselves to ask how the other's significant other was doing every now and then, but other than that they decided that the best thing for them was if they just didn't talk about it.

They didn't talk any more about their fight, and while they were a little bit more careful around eachother for the first few days, they eventually loosened up, and it seemed that all was forgotten. They were training again for the match against Hufflepuff, which would take place in the first week of December.

The morning of the match dawned gray, windy, and wet, which left Teddy and Victoire, along with the rest of the team, in a very bad mood. When Teddy sat down at breakfast Victoire was already there buttering herself some toast.

"Have you seen the weather?" she asked irritably before he'd even completely sat down.

"Yeah," he said glumly, "We'll have to make the best of it, though."

"And I guess this is why Henry makes us fly when it's raining," she muttered, biting into her toast.

"It'll be fine," Teddy said.

"Who said I didn't think it'd be fine," she asked, raising an eyebrow, "This is still gonna be a breeze, but I don't fancy getting soaked."

Teddy shrugged, "To tell you the truth the idea doesn't appeal to me either.

They sat in silence eating for a few minutes before they decided that it was time to head down to the pitch.

The trek down to the changing rooms was miserable, and once they arrived they knew that, though they could dry themselves off and did, the break would only be temporary. Michael, as usual, gave his usual pre-game pep talk, after which they had to grit their teeth and head out onto the pitch.

The match started wet and finished wet as well when the Gryffindor seeker caught the snitch, making it a score of 240 to 80.

As the team headed off for the party that would surely be in full swing when they reached the common room the rain stopped, which only brightened their spirits. As they reached the castle doors and headed up the marble staircase Victoire and Teddy fell into step with one another.

"I told you," he said, running his hand through his hair and smirking, "I _told_ you this would be easy."

"I never said I thought it'd be difficult," she said in a superior tone, also smirking, "I knew Hufflepuff didn't have a chance, and best of all, my hair's dry now."

"I'm _thrilled_ to hear it," he said sarcastically, "God knows _what_ would've happened if your hair hadn't dried!"

"Shut it," she said, slapping him on the arm.

"You're telling _me_ to shut it?" he asked, "Me?" He grabbed her around the waist in a surprise tickle attack. They stopped in the middle of the corridor, Victoire laughing loudly all the while crying, "Teddy! Teddy _stop_!" while Teddy laughed as well, smirking at his small victory.

Someone cleared their throat, and Teddy let go of Victoire, both panting slightly. They turned and saw Andrea, who looked awkward and was biting her lip.

"Um, Teddy," she said, "Could I, uh, have a word? In private?"

"Sure, Andrea," he said, walking over and leading her around the corridor by the elbow as Victoire took the hint and continued walked towards the common room. "What's up?"

"Listen, Teddy, I like you, I really do, but I don't think it's working between us..."

"What?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, "Why not?"

"It's just," she paused, and it looked to Teddy as if she was resolving herself to say something, "Because it's obvious that you're in love with someone else."

"That's crazy," he said, "Who do you..." but he trailed off, watching as she raised her eyebrows suggestively, "You don't mean Vic? You _can't_ mean Vic."

"Teddy, I've _seen_ you with her! I saw you just now," she said, gesturing down the corridor where Victoire had disappeared.

"We're just _really_ good friends. I've known her all my life," he explained.

"Exactly," she said, "How could I ever compete with that."

"No, Andrea, that's not what I meant! Just-"

"I'd better go," she said, turning away from him, "Curfew's in a few minutes and I've got to get back down to my common room."

"Yeah," he said, turning as he watched her retreat down the corridor.

"Bye Teddy," she said with a small smile before she turned and left. Teddy watched her for a moment, willing his mind _not_ to go in the direction that he words had made it want to go. After a moment he turned and went the other way towards the common room.

When he arrived the party was in full swing, and he could see Victoire with Michael talking in the corner. He tried not to grimace. After a few minutes Victoire walked over to him where he stood by the butterbeers and said, "So, what was that all about?"

"We broke up," he said flatly. He thought he saw a smile flash across her face, a look of triumph in her eyes, but it was gone before he could even blink, and he was sure he'd imagined it.

"Why?"

"She thought..." he paused, not sure whether or not he should tell her. He decided against it, "I'm sure, really." He shrugged.

"You don't upset," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not," he said, "It was for the best."

"That's the spirit," she said with a smile, "Come on! I bet I can down a bottle of butterbeer faster than you can!"

"You're on!" he said with a grin.

* * *

One practice about a week after the match, Victoire left with Michael to take a walk and Teddy headed to dinner, trying to stop himself from grimacing.

When he arrived at dinner he sat down next to Matt who said, "Oh, look who's got some time to spare for his best mate," he said, in a joking tone, but he couldn't help being slightly serious, "Where's Victoire?"

"Out walking with Michael," Teddy said flatly, serving himself some mashed potatoes.

"Do I detect a hint of jealously?" asked Matt with a smirk.

"_No_," Teddy said, "Why would I be jealous?"

Matt rolled his eyes, privately thinking to himself that he couldn't wait for Teddy and Victoire to finally get together for two reasons: 1. They'd stop tiptoeing around all romantic aspects of eachother's lives, and 2. If Victoire was Teddy's girlfriend, then he, Matt, would be Teddy's only best mate, just like he had been for their first year. Of course he knew that he was Teddy's best mate, but it was hard when your best friend suddenly had _another_ alien best friend that you didn't even know about. Second year had been a little rough on that front.

Teddy and Matt left the Great Hall together after dinner, but when Matt realized he left his bag at the Gryffindor table he turned back, telling Teddy to go on ahead. Teddy had almost reached the portrait hole when he heard a soft crying sound from behind a tapestry, one which he knew concealed a secret passage.

He wanted to open the tapestry, but was afraid that it'd be awkward if he didn't know the person, and even more awkward if it was someone like Claire who he couldn't stand. Still, if it was one of the younger kids he wanted to help.

He ran his hand through his hair in indecision, before walked over briskly and pulling aside the tapestry.

**Cliff-hanger, I know, _so_ mean, but I couldn't help it. You'll all just have to review if you want me to get another chapter out quick. I'm trying a new technique to get reviews, if you couldn't tell: bribery. Hope it works and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. You could tell me about it in a _review_ (aren't my hints so subtle?).**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	6. Not Subhuman After All

**So, this chapter picks up from where the last chapter left off, but then there's a time jump, so be prepared for that. Enjoy!**

Teddy pulled back the tapestry, only to wish that he'd let it be. Claire was sitting on the floor, her brown hair falling in front of her face, her arms around her knees, which were pulled up against her chest. She looked up at the sudden rush of light into the space and quickly dried her eyes, but Teddy could still see the tears in them.

"What do you want, Lupin?" she asked, carefully avoiding his gaze.

"I just..." he said, unsure if he should run for it. He decided to at least _try_ to talk to her, "I just heard someone back here, and I wanted to make sure they were okay." He'd been careful not to mention anything about tears, and for that she was grateful, but she didn't show it.

"Well, I'm fine," she said.

"I don't believe that," he said, sliding down and sitting next to her. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do it. He'd always matched her open dislike, but seeing her crying on the floor reminded him of two very important facts: 1. She was human, and 2. She was Victoire's friend, so she couldn't be all bad.

"Well, you'd _better_," she said, "Because I'm _fine_."

"Listen, I know you hate me-" he started, but she cut him off.

"I don't _hate_ you...Well, actually I _do_, but I don't just hate you," she said, still not looking at him.

"Oh, another emotion besides hate? Am I really that lucky?" He couldn't help it, he really couldn't, but it didn't make her any more willing to open up.

She scowled, "Well, now that we've established both that I hate you and that I'm fine, you can go."

"Not until you tell me what's up," he said stubbornly, and it reminded Claire of Victoire.

"Why do you even care?" she asked, looking at him for the first time.

"Because you're Vic's friend," he said, "So you can't be all bad."

"I used to think that about you," she said, "Until I actually _met_ you."

"Well, if you really do hate me-" he started, but she cut him off again.

"I do."

"Well, then, you've got nothing to lose if you tell me what's wrong because you don't care what I think."

She paused, as if considering his words, before she said, "I just split up with my boyfriend, Edmund."

Teddy quickly wracked his brains for the one time that Claire's boyfriend came up between him and Victoire. He remembered that Victoire had said that Edmund was in her year and in...Slytherin? Was that it?

Before he could think of anything to say she continued, "I had to do it, but..."

"Why?" he asked, genuinely interested. He'd never seen Claire so emotional, so serious about anything. He supposed people though that about him, because he only ever showed he was upset in front of Matt or Victoire, but it was nice to see that Claire was actually a human being with real feelings.

"I was going to meet him in the Entrance Hall to go on a walk, and when he didn't turn up I went down to the Slytherin common room to look for him. He was kissing Melanie Clearwater," she paused to wipe her eyes, which had become a bit more teary, "I told him it was over and came back up here, but I just needed a minute."

Teddy nodded, unsure of how to respond to this. However, Claire seemed to think that the conversation was over, because she stood up and said, "Maybe you're not sub-human after all."

"Good to know," he replied with a small smirk.

"You're just an ass," she finished, and he couldn't help but smile a little more. She really wasn't so bad, even if he did hate her and she hated him. He thought that maybe, in another universe, they could've been friends...no, probably not even then. But now he could, at least, tolerate her. "If you ever tell anyone about this I will..." she cast around looking for a threat.

"I won't," he said, "And before you say that you can't cross me you should know that I know how good Victoire is at curses, and I have no doubt she'd tag-team with you if I told anyone."

"You're not as dumb as you look," she said, before exiting without another word.

"You're welcome," he muttered to the empty alcove before following her out.

* * *

Victoire couldn't pin-point the moment where Claire and Teddy stopped throwing insults at eachother every time they got within a 20 meter radius of one another, but one day they just stopped, or so it seemed to her. Claire still hated Teddy, and made that quite clear to Victoire often, and Teddy still wasn't very fond of Claire, but they no longer felt the need to make life for Victoire more difficult, and Victoire saw this as a definite improvement.

Her life seemed to have become stuck in a rut of monotony as Christmas came and went and they moved into the New Year. She went to class, went to Quidditch practice, hung out with Teddy, took walks with Michael, studied and hung out with Claire, and repeated. One evening in late February she brought it up with Claire, who did not sympathize.

"What are you complaining about?" She said unsympathetically, raising her eyebrows and setting down her parchment and quill, "You've got some of the best grades in the year, the Quidditch team's on track to beating Ravenclaw easily, you're going out with the best looking and smartest bloke in the grade, why is the monotony a problem?"

"I don't know," she sighed, setting her assignment aside as well and leaning her head back on the couch, "I can't explain it. It just feels like I'm _board_ with the way I'm living. I need a change..."

"As someone who's been on an emotional roller-coaster since November I can honestly say that monotony looks pretty good from where I'm standing."

"But at least you _felt_ something," Victoire moaned rather melodramatically, "Love, then despair, then hate, then love again, and whatever else happened between you and Edmund since the first time you guys broke up at least you can say you've _lived_ over the last four months!"

"What about Michael?" Claire asked, confused, "Don't you love him?"

"I don't know," Victoire moaned helplessly, "I _did_, for a while, but now it's just..." she paused, before she muttered irritable, "Ugh, Teddy."

"What?" asked Claire, sitting up, suddenly more alert than ever, "What does he have to do with it."

"He was right," Victoire moaned, "He's always saying how Michael's too boring for me, and he _is_."

"Oh, Vic," Claire began, but Victoire interrupted her.

"No, I've got to break up with him," she stood up, but Claire, pulled her back down.

"No, you don't. If you really think that breaking up with your boyfriend because you feel _board_ is a good idea than you've gone round the bend. Besides, it's passed curfew. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to ruin your life."

"I'm not going to ruin my life," said Victoire, looking superior, "I'm going to start living it."

**I know everyone was expecting Victoire to be crying behind the tapestry, but crying doesn't seem very Victoire to me at this point. Anyway, I hope everyone liked the chapter and reviews will _definitely_ help get the next one out faster.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	7. Irritation

**So, here we are with another chapter. I hope you enjoy _Irritation_:**

The next morning Victoire was not at the Gryffindor table, something that confused Teddy when he arrived.

"Where's Vic?" he asked Claire, who was talking to her friend Erin.

Claire scowled and said, "Off at the Ravenclaw table." Teddy was confused as to why Claire was scowling, after all, it wasn't _Claire _who hated Victoire's boyfriend...

"Oh," said Teddy, moving away to sit with Matt. However, he soon saw Victoire arrive at the table, but he noticed that she avoided Claire, who was still scowling, and came to sit with him instead.

"What's up?" Teddy asked as she sat down next to him and helped herself to some sausages.

"I broke up with Michael," she said casually, now dishing eggs onto her plate. Teddy's heart began to beat a little faster, but he ignored it.

"Why?" he asked, noticing with satisfaction that she did not look upset.

She shrugged, "I was ready for a change."

"I take it Claire doesn't approve?" Teddy was beginning to put the pieces together, and figured that it was Claire's attitude that was causing the irritated look that was in Victoire's eyes.

"Nope," Victoire replied, "But she'll come round."

* * *

Teddy was in a _very_ good mood for the rest of the day, but it wasn't until on his and Matt's way to Transfiguration for the last period of the day that Matt said anything.

"So, Teddy," he began, smirking, "I suppose your inordinately good mood has _nothing_ to do with Victoire breaking up with her boyfriend?"

Teddy broke step for half a second before continuing to walk along the corridor, scowling as he said, "_No_, it doesn't."

"_Sure_," said Matt, rolling is eyes, "You tell yourself that for a few days, but you'd better make a move fast or someone else will."

Teddy shrugged, "I really couldn't care less. As long as he's a decent bloke and treats her right, it's fine with me. I'm just trying to look out for her like _any_ relative would."

"Yeah," said Matt, "But none of her relatives want to snog her."

Teddy's eyes widened in horror and he hit Matt on the arm in anger before he whipped his head around quickly, as if he expected to see Victoire hiding behind one of the suits of armor. "I do _not_ want to snog Victoire, and if I _did_, which I _don't_, it would be none of your business."

"Okay," shrugged Matt, maddeningly unperturbed by Teddy's outburst. If anything, he looked highly amused, which only made Teddy more angry.

"You're impossible," Teddy said, shoving Matt aside with his shoulder and storming ahead of him.

"No," muttered Matt, more to himself, "That's _you_." He ran to catch up with Teddy, afraid to be late.

* * *

Victoire was sitting with her back against a beech tree looking out on the lake, her knees pulled up against her chest, thinking on her conversation with Michael this morning and watching the sun set, throwing a hazy red reflection on the water.

She remembered how she'd been a little nervous about hurting his feelings, because he was still a really nice guy, and how she'd nearly forced the words out, "Michael, I don't think this is working."

At first the surprise came, then the hurt, and then something she had not expected. "I can't believe you're breaking up with me for _him_."

"Who?" she'd asked, but he'd ignored her.

"I mean, I know all the girls think he's hot or something, but he can change his appearance at will, can't he? But, really, I shouldn't be surprised, he's always been there on the sideline. I wouldn't be surprised if he pressured you to do it-"

"Who are you talking about?" she'd demanded, cutting him off, though she knew _exactly_ to whom he was referring. She'd just wanted to make him say it.

"Who do you think?" he'd asked angrily, "Lupin. Everyone sees it! Everyone knows that you guys are basically a couple already, I guess I was just deluding myself into thinking that he'd ever let you go, but he's got you so tight in his clutches that even you don't realize. He's manipulative."

And then she'd stood up to her fullest height and said, "For your information, Teddy has _nothing_ to do with this! He and I are friends, yes, but this is _my_ decision and don't you _dare_ say otherwise." She had then turned and strode away, only to turn back and say, "And another thing, the way Teddy looks every day is how he _naturally_ looks! He just _is_ that hot, he doesn't have to pretend to be!" She had added the last bit just to get at Michael, and she could tell that it did, but then he'd raised a suggestive eyebrow at her, and she had stalked off without another word.

Victoire bit her lip and looked out onto the lake, considering this exchange. Everything Michael had said had been, of course, completely untrue, and had irritated her to no end, but was that how she and Teddy appeared to everyone? Did everyone think that they were some sort of couple-in-the-making?

She ran her hand through her hair before standing up. She wouldn't let Michael's comments, or anyone else's, for that matter, get to her. She was going to the common room to spend the evening with her two best friends, though not with both of them at the same time. She scowled.

**So, I'd LOVE some reviews about what you guys thought about the break-up and Teddy and Victoire's different responses.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	8. Show's Over!

**Hey guys! So, I've got another chapter for you. This one's pretty angsty (I feel like this story in general is more angsty than I had originally planned), and it covers a very short period of time in-depth. There's a lot of character soul-searching, which I _love_ writing. Enjoy! **

As March ended and April began Teddy, Matt, and the rest of the seventh years all began to hide behind their books to study for their N.E.W.T.s, just as Victoire and Claire had done the previous year in order to study for their O.W.L.s.

Teddy was more tense than Victoire had ever seen him before an exam. He normally wasn't worried because he knew he knew the material and that he would do well, but not this time. Victoire understood. Though she normally wasn't worried about exams because she, like him, hardly ever doubted herself, she knew that N.E.W.T.s were something entirely different, so she didn't push him.

However, with Teddy constantly occupied with his studying Victoire was constantly irritable, and she couldn't help but be impatient with him when he forgot Quidditch practice. Worse: Henry Carmichael knew that Teddy and Victoire were close, so he sent her to talk to Teddy about the fact that he'd now missed two practices in a row, and when he did turn up he wasn't exactly focused.

So, when Victoire returned from Quidditch practice, where Teddy was supposed to be, she strode right over to him and took the book he was clutching from out of his hands.

"Vic?" he nearly yelled, looking at her in irritation, "Give that back!"

"No," she said stubbornly, "Not until you hear me out. I know that N.E.W.T.s are important, but-"

He cut her off, saying, "Listen, Vic, I know you're not happy that I've kinda been ignoring you, but I've been ignoring everyone, and when I stop you'll be the first to know, so-"

She spoke in a deliberate voice, talking over him, "I hate when you interrupt me when you don't even know what I'm going to say. I'm not angry because you're ignoring me, I know these exams are really important. I'm mad because you've now missed two Quidditch practices in a row, and when you do turn up you're never on your A-game. Our match against Slytherin is in less than a month and it's your last month! I thought this would be important to you!" He tried to speak, but she spoke over him, "And before you say that it's not my business," he looked sheepish because that had been exactly what he was about to say, "Let me tell you it is my business because not only do I care intensely about beating Slytherin, Carmichael also holds me responsible for you, and if you don't show up it's me that gets blamed! I don't understand it, you-"

Teddy finally managed to cut her off, saying, "No, you don't understand. This Quidditch match may be important to Carmichael because he wants a career in Quidditch, but for me it's just another match-"

Victoire cut him off, "Don't you see how selfish that is? This is Carmichael's future, and you're killing yourself studying! The occasional break would do you good, and Carmichael is in a position where he _needs_ us to perform well because when the scout is watching he will think of us all as a reflection of Carmichael's captaining abilities, and of course he'll be watching Henry too, but we have to do well for him, we owe him that! Anyway, don't you care about beating Slytherin at all? This is your last match!"

"Of course I want to beat Slytherin, but my entire future is dependent on these exams, Vic! If I don't do well enough I won't be accepted into the auror program, the only thing I've ever really wanted for myself and I can't depend on other people to get it!"

"Teddy, you're a shoe-in for the auror department. Uncle Harry's the head, and even if he wasn't you're smart and talented and perfect for the job! You've never doubted your abilities, so why do it now?"

She had meant to be helpful, but her statement only made Teddy angry, "I don't want to just get in because Harry's the head, I wanna earn it. I know that idea is pretty foreign to you because your family has a monopoly over every field you'd ever possibly want to go into, but this is something I need to earn, to prove to myself and to everyone else that I'm worth something other than a few witty comments!" He saw the hurt behind her eyes as he snapped at her, but he continued, "And someday you've got to realize that you're not invincible Vic, and neither am I! We can pretend we are but we're not, not even you."

Victoire looked at him blankly for a moment, before setting the book down on the table and turning and going up to the girls' dormitory without another word. The rest of the common room was not oblivious to the scene, but they hadn't actually been yelling, so no one knew what had really happened, they just knew that it had.

Teddy glanced around at all the people staring at him and said, "Show's over!" before storming up to the boys dormitory.

Claire had been sitting in the corner working on her Charms essay and Matt had been on one of the couches in the center of the room studying his Transfiguration, but as Teddy disappeared their eyes met from across the common room and they each tore after their respective best friends.

* * *

Victoire was not visible when Claire entered the otherwise empty dormitory. She had the curtains pulled shut all around her four-poster, and made no move to reveal herself when Claire entered and said, "Vic?"

Realizing that Victoire was not going to emerge willingly, Claire pulled back the curtain on the side of the bed to reveal Victoire, sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest. She wasn't crying; Victoire had never been a crier, and she wasn't going to start now. She was just sitting, staring at her knees.

"Oh, Vic," Claire said, but Victoire stopped her.

"Stop it." Her voice was toneless, and she did not look away from her knees, "I don't want to talk, so please leave."

Claire did as she was bidden, closing Victoire into her sanctuary once more and leaving her to her thoughts.

As Victoire stared at her knees she considered all the things Teddy had said to her. Throughout most of the conversation she'd only been frustrated with him, but the last thing he'd said to her made her blood run cold, and she could still hear his voice shouting in her head.

'Your family has a monopoly over every field you'd ever possibly want to go into!' Was that true? Her Uncles might run the auror department, and her aunt might be Mistress of Magic, and her Aunt Ginny work for the Daily Prophet, but she wasn't editor or anything, and sure she had a few Quidditch connections, but not _too_ many...Sure her Dad might be high up in the bank, and her Uncle Percy was pretty well-regarded in the field of international relations, but did her family really cover _every_ profession? And then it dawned on her, Teddy was absolutely right. Just as she realized that she became angry because he was assuming that she couldn't get any of those things on her own, and she _could_, she knew she could! She wasn't going to rely on her family any more than he was!

'You're not invincible...not even you!'

The words reverberated in her head, bouncing off the walls of her skull and filling every available space in her brain. She stood up swiftly and walked to the bathroom door. She went in and looked in the mirror. She saw the tall, beautiful, strawberry-blond that she saw every time she looked, her blue eyes slightly glassy, her cheeks red from anger and hurt. She looked into the eyes of her reflection, as if hoping to find herself there.

After a moment she returned to lie on the bed, unsatisfied with what she found in her eyes. She wasn't invincible, she knew that, but it wasn't as if she didn't work hard, it wasn't as if she wasn't talented, smart, and well connected. Was confidence a crime? She didn't think so, and if it was, Teddy was certainly guilty of it too.

She fell asleep, still fully-clothed on the bed, a crease set into her eyebrows.

* * *

Teddy had taken sanctuary behind the curtains of his own four-poster bed.

He'd never felt so low. He'd said unforgivable things and he had no way to fix it. He regretted it all the moment Victoire had strode away, but he couldn't take it back, and someone had to say it. She _wasn't_ invincible, and neither was he, but he knew that she probably _did_ know that. He knew the jab about her family connections had been what hurt the most, and he also knew it was only half-true. Her family _did_ have a monopoly over almost every aspect of the wizarding world, but he knew Victoire didn't need them to make her way in the world, he'd only said that to goad her.

The problem with knowing someone as well and as intimately as Teddy knew Victoire was that it gives one the power to push the other's buttons in the exact way that will hurt them the most. He and Victoire had never done that, they'd never stooped so low, but he just had, and it made him sick. He only felt worse when he realized that her momentary pause before she left was the time she took to decide if she would retaliate. He knew she was capable of coming up with just the right things to say to wound him deeply, but she had not. In the end she could not hurt him that way, even when he had so deeply wounded her.

He'd never felt like a worse person than he did as he sat there. He ignored Matt coming in and calling "Teddy?" and unlike Claire, Matt took his lack of response to mean what it was supposed to: Teddy did not want to speak to him.

Teddy was awake long after his roommates had all drifted off, self-loathing keeping his mind moving in circles. She'd only been trying to help with her comment, he knew that, but he didn't want people to think Harry got him the job any more than Victoire wanted people to think that her family connections had gotten her where she was inevitably going. He needed to prove to himself that there was the makings of a man behind the swagger...after tonight he wasn't so sure that there was.

**Okay, so this was pretty intense. Tell me what you think and look forward to another chapter hopefully soon.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	9. Laughter

**Sorry this was a bit of a wait...I've been super busy, and a bit uninspired, but literally 30 minutes ago I got so inspired that I wrote half the chapter in one sitting, so I'm now feeling pretty good about it.**

From the day after the fight Teddy began going to Quidditch practice again. Victoire refused to speak to him, and he refused to speak to her because, no matter how guilty he felt, he was too stubborn to back down. They each tried so desperately to be unaffected by the other that their flying improved, as did their academic work. Henry Carmichael and other members of the Quidditch team all noticed that something was going on between Teddy and Victoire, but all of them were reluctant to bring it up when they were flying so well. Their professors all noticed the new vigor with which they approached their work, but they just wrote it off as N.E.W.T. mania or pre-N.E.W.T. mania in Victoire's case. Only their friends, and not just Claire and Matt, knew something was going on. Of course, many of them had seen the fight in the common room, but they hadn't known how serious it was.

So, it was with great trepidation that Matt decided to broach the subject with Teddy for the first time. It had been about three weeks since the fight and it was one week until the big match against Slytherin on the May 31. They were in the boys dormitory studying Herbology, as they had been for the previous two hours since they came back from dinner. Their N.E.W.T.s began on June 2 with Herbology, and as they were only about a week away everyone was going into over-drive.

"So..." he began casually, looking up from his notes, "When are you gonna talk to her?"

"Who?" Teddy asked, feigning innocence and keeping his head in his notes.

"You know bloody well who," Matt said, deciding to cut to the chase. "Victoire! It's been _weeks_! Are you gonna talk before the match against Slytherin next Saturday? After?"

Teddy shrugged, mostly because he didn't know what to say.

Matt decided to try a knew tactic. "You know, you'll do _way_ better on your N.E.W.T.s if you and Victoire make up because you'll be more relaxed."

Teddy still said nothing. He felt guilty about everything he'd said, but he was also one of the stubbornest people alive, and he wasn't going to apologize unless Victoire made the first move to speak with him. A part if him also thought Victoire was better off without him, and in any case, he wasn't one to go where he wasn't wanted.

What he didn't know was that he _was_ wanted.

Victoire spent most of her time studying or practicing for the Quidditch final, and she threw herself into all of her work with vigor, but wen she wasn't studying or flying she was moping. This behavior alone was enough to make Claire worry. Victoire's mantra had always been 'his loss' whenever she was dumped or she and a friend had an argument, and the only other time she and Teddy fought she'd at least kept up the 'his loss' attitude as best she could, but not this time. Of course, whenever she saw him, she pretended to be absorbed in whatever she was doing and animated about whatever it was, but when he was out of sight she'd slump back with the effort of it all.

On one such occasion Victoire was doing her Transfiguration homework at about ten at night in the common room when she saw Teddy get up with Matt from the corner and head towards the boys' dormitory staircase. As he passed she elbowed Claire, who was sitting next to her on the couch, and started laughing merrily.

"Claire, you're terrible!" she said with a radiant smile.

Claire was laughing too, though she wasn't quite as good an actress as Victoire. Teddy was trying not to notice them, and as a result he didn't notice that she was faking.

As Teddy moved away and disappeared up the stairs behind Matt Victoire stopped laughing and picked up her quill, only to set it down and say, slightly awkwardly, "Thanks..."

Claire had stopped laughing too. "What are friends for other than to help create the appearance of fun?" She hadn't meant to say it so icily, but she was worried about Victoire.

"I'm sorry, Claire, I know I'm not much fun right now. I'm just really stressed because of the Quidditch match. It's in _two days_. Once that's over I'll be fine."

"Oh come _on_ Vic," said Claire, "You may be a good actress, good enough to fool Teddy for the twenty seconds he's near you every day, but I know better. You know I hate Teddy, but I'm willing to put up with him because I'm your best friend and you love him! You need to talk to him because if you don't-"

Victoire had only just caught up with Claire's words. She snapped indignantly, "I do _not_! What do you mean I love him?" She kept her voice low, and looked around the room, making sure no one was listening, but most people were getting ready to go to bed, ready for Friday to start.

Claire rolled her eyes, "You said so yourself, he's like your brother. I'm not trying to convince you that you love him, you already _know_ that," she saw that Victoire was about to interrupt, so she hastened to add, "And however you want to interpret 'love' is your problem. All I'm trying to get you to do is talk to him because _however_ you love him, you miss him! He's leaving Hogwarts, and if he goes off to auror training after his N.E.W.T.s he'll be gone and if you don't make the effort to communicate now you might not get another chance! If you guys are friends again you can write from Hogwarts and see him over breaks, but if you don't make up now you'll always know you missed your chance."

Victoire was shaking her head before closing her eyes for a moment, and if Claire hadn't known any better she would've said that Victoire had been holding in tears. But when Victoire reopened her eyes they were dry.

"Do you really think," she said in a broken whisper, still being careful that no one near them could hear, "That I haven't thought about it? Do you really think that that thought doesn't cross my mind _every single day_?"

"Then why don't you talk to him?" Claire asked exasperatedly, throwing her arms up in irritation.

"Because it's better this way. You were right all along, we're too similar. It's not good for me to be friends with him. I need to quit him, and this is the best way to do it. What this year has proved is that now that we're older we're toxic for each other. Because we know each other so well we know all the right buttons to push, and we never used to do that, but now we _do_, or at least _he_ does," she added darkly, "And that isn't a good basis for a friendship. We've outgrown each other. Besides," she said the last sentence bitterly, "You've always thought the worst when it came to Teddy. I thought _you'd_ be happy."

Claire looked at Victoire for a long moment before she said, "Why would you ever think that you being unhappy gives me any satisfaction?"

And with that she too walked away from Victoire.

Left in the common room, with no one for company but two fourth years huddled in the corner, Victoire pulled her knees up to her chest. She was sitting on the far right of the couch, leaning slightly against the arm, and as she turned her head just slightly to the right she could see directly into the fireplace. She looked at the dancing flames. As she looked, her arms still tight around her knees, keeping them to her chest, she considered Claire's words, the ones that she _hadn't_ been considering before.

Did she love Teddy? Her reflex answer was of course she loved Teddy, she'd grown up with him, her childhood companion, her twin in personality and mannerisms, her best friend. Her Teddy. She pulled one arm away and ran it through her hair, pushing some of the longer tight ringlets out of her face. That gesture alone was enough to make her think of Teddy. When they'd been about four and five she'd seen him run his hands through his sandy-blond hair, and she'd done it too to be like him. After a while it had turned into an automatic habit.

She closed her eyes again, and felt the beginnings of tears, but still she did not cry. She wasn't trying to hold them back, she just didn't cry, or maybe she _couldn't_. The last time she'd cried wasn't even from sadness, but from laughter. She remembered it clearly: she'd been twelve and Teddy thirteen. They'd been at her house a few days before leaving for Hogwarts, and Teddy had been going through a phase where he changed all of his features every day, and when she saw him with a clown-red nose, bright green hair, and yellowish skin she's laughed until she cried.

She smiled fondly to herself.

She had plenty of memories without Teddy, plenty of happy ones too, but not the ones that really counted. Not the ones that really mattered. He wasn't absent from any of those, and did this mean that he would be from future ones? She had always thought that when push came to shove Teddy would always be there for her, and even now she knew deep in her heart that he still would be, if she'd only reach out to him.

But did that mean she _loved_ him? _Really_ loved him. Did she really know what being in love _meant_? She'd thought she loved some boyfriends, but that was _after_ they'd dated a while. How did you know that you loved someone if you'd never dated them?

She tried to really picture a permanent situation in which he wasn't in her life. She thought for a moment that she might actually sob, but she just continued to stare motionless at the fire.

She did.

She loved Teddy.

The thought crashed down on her, bringing in a wave of implications that she did not want to face. She stood up abruptly and stared at the fire for a moment, trying to find some way to digest this information without screaming, which she couldn't very well do in the middle of the common room. She was suddenly so mad at him it made the room spin and her head ache. How _dare_ he make her love him? It wasn't _fair_!

And then she was laughing. Standing in the common room and laughing. The two fourth years looked at her in alarm, before both hurrying up the stairs to their dormitory, but she barely noticed. Of _course_ she loved Teddy! She was sometimes so irritated with him that she wanted to scream, and _twice_ this year she'd been so mad she'd wanted to hit him, and one of the times she actually _did_, but that was _why_ she loved him! He was just like her, but at the same time her opposite. Her companion and her foil. Her best friend and her toughest competition. Her comfort and the bane of her existence.

Her Teddy.

She felt something cold trickling down her cheek. She touched it, her laughter subsiding slightly to be replaced with wonder.

It was a tear.

**Okay, so I'm _really_ unsure about how I handled this chapter...I really like it but I'm not sure if anyone's going to understand what I was going for at the end. I'm a little afraid that everyone's going to think I've gone crazy, so leave me a review and tell me if it made any sense. I suppose I was trying to make it _not_ make sense because love sometimes _doesn't_ make sense but...I can't really articulate it, so just review and let me know if you think I'm crazy.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	10. Now or Never

**I know it's been _forever_ since I last updated, but after the last chapter there were a lot of different places this could go, but I'm really pleased with where it went, so to me it was worth the extra time. Enjoy!**

Victoire had never been afraid to say exactly what she thought about everything. If other people didn't agree with her that was their problem. She'd never been ashamed of her own opinions, mostly because she was convinced that she was always right. Now, for the first time in her life, Victoire was faced with a situation where she was afraid to say what she felt. She knew that she and Teddy had to make up, there was no other option if she was going to keep her sanity, but she wasn't sure how or if she should tell him how she really felt about him. What would he say? Would he feel the same way? If he didn't could they still be friends? No, telling him wasn't a good idea, of that she was nearly sure, but she wasn't sure how she could be around him all the time knowing that she loved him. She would eventually crack, but how soon was eventually?

Thoughts whirled around Victoire's head throughout the next day, and by the time Quidditch practice started she was nearly resolved. She would make up with Teddy so that they could be friends, but nothing more...at least, not yet.

When she arrived at the pitch she saw Teddy and made a b-line for him. He looked at her in surprise and alarm, as if he expected her to attack him. However, she stopped just short of too close to him and for a moment said nothing, just looking at him.

She refused to say she was sorry because she had nothing to apologize for, but she had to say _something_ because all she was doing was standing there like an idiot.

"Teddy, we need to stop this pointless fighting, we-"

Teddy interrupted her before she could say anything else.

"Yes!" He nearly shouted it. "We do! I'm sorry I said what I said, I was just stressed and tired and I lashed out, but I shouldn't have, and I know it wasn't fair to you and that I shouldn't have said what I said. It's not true, though, you've _got_ to know it's not true! I don't think you need your family connections to get what you want any more than I do and it was wrong of me to say that when I knew how much it would hurt you and-"

"Teddy!" Victoire laughed, her eyes sparkling with mirth, "Relax. Breath. You shouldn't have said what you said, but I shouldn't have pushed you. Friends?"

"Friends" he said with a smile, pulling her into a hug.

"Alright! Alright!" came Henry Carmichael's shout, "Everyone in the air _now_!"

Both Teddy and Victoire rolled their eyes as they mounted their brooms, sending each other a private smirk as they did so.

* * *

Teddy was soaring around the pitch, his bat at the ready, with only one goal: win the game.

They were up by a hundred points, but Teddy was still on high alert because he _knew_ that the Ravenclaw seeker was better than theirs, and so he needed to make sure that the snitch remained un-caught until they were 160 points ahead.

Suddenly, the commentator's voice rang out saying "And Ravenclaw seeker Andrew Wilkes has seen the snitch! Gryffindor seeker Lauren Wesley is right behind him! Wilkes is pulling ahead!"

Teddy turned so swiftly that he nearly toppled off of his broom to see Wilkes just feet away from the snitch. He had to act fast. He gripped his bat more tightly and scanned the pitch until he saw it: a bludger. He raced towards it and swung with all his might.

There was a loud _thud_ and he grinned widely as he turned, expecting to see Wesley holding the snitch high in the air. Instead he saw Wilkes, holding the snitch and a tall, strawberry blond, plummeting from the sky, her head bleeding profusely.

There as a crash as she hit the ground.

* * *

Teddy sat bolt upright in bed, his head aching, his brown sweating, and his breathing uneven. He glanced at the clock: 9:30 AM. On Saturday. The day of the match.

He looked around the dormitory to see it completely empty, for which he was thankful. He heard noises in the bathroom and knew that someone, probably Matt, was still there, so he had to pull himself together.

He felt physically ill. The dream had seemed so real...too real. His stomach clenched at the idea of hurting Victoire until the crashing realization hit him that he had done worse. He had hurt her more when he didn't tell her about Andrea Carmichael, and more still that day in the common room.

It wasn't right. He realized that he must be some kind of monster and self-loathing consumed him. You're not supposed to hurt the people you love.

Wait, he loved Victoire?

He drew up a mental picture of her: strawberry blond hair, bubbly blue eyes, and her smug smirk playing across her pink lips. Of course he loved her. It was only natural that he love her after they grew up together, but he didn't love her the same way that he loved Uncle Harry or Dominique or Lily. He loved the way she laughed and the way she smirked when she thought she was right, the way they could joke around with each other one minute and then have a serious conversation the next. He loved that she knew everything about him and that she understood his every weakness, but never used them against him, even when he didn't show her the same courtesy. He realized that as similar as they were in personality and as conflicting as their opinions could be, he loved Victoire, not only for who she was, but also for her acceptance of who _he_ was. He could be himself, just Teddy. He could laugh and make witty, albeit mean, comments, and joke and be himself, and she would never judge him for it. She still was his friend after all of the horrible things he'd said and done to her this year. She was his clone in humor and temperament, but his superior in kindness, though she didn't always know it. She was forgiving without letting people walk all over her, she was determined, but didn't let ambition blind her, she was...he wouldn't say perfect because even he knew that she was far from it, but she was perfect for _him_.

He shook his head slightly, trying to re-focus his mind. In the space of less than thirty seconds his entire world view had shifted, and he felt suddenly both exhausted and energized. He wanted to run all the way up to the astronomy tower and bellow from the top of it, but at the same time he wanted to lie and sleep through the rest of the day.

Before he could act on either of these impulses, the bathroom door opened and Matt walked out, toweling his hair dry.

"Blimey, you slept late. I was afraid you were gonna sleep through the match! You'd better-"

"I love Vic!"

He nearly bellowed it as the pent up energy burst forth from him. He felt lighter already just having admitted it out loud, but also very foolish, considering the look on Matt's face.

For a moment he stared at Teddy, his mouth slightly open, before he shrugged and said, "Glad you've sorted that out, but-"

"I've gotta tell her," he whispered, more to himself than to Matt, who could've fallen out the window and he'd scarce have noticed.

"What, _now_?" Matt asked incredulously, "Have you forgotten the match?"

"The match?" It took him a moment to remember what 'the match' meant. "Oh! The _match_!"

"Yeah, you know, the one you've been training for for weeks? _That_ match."

Matt rolled his eyes as he walked over to his bedside table.

"Well," Teddy began again, undeterred from his original game plan, "I have to tell her. Today. Right now."

He stood up, his previous sense of purpose completely returned to him.

"Well, call me crazy, but you might wanna put some cloths on first. Just a suggestion," said Matt with a smirk.

Teddy looked down. He was, indeed, only wearing boxers. He glared at Matt, "You know, for someone who's been telling me all year that I love Vic, you're oddly unenthusiastic about the idea."

"Mate, I've known you loved Victoire for almost three years now, this isn't exactly new news. This match _is_. You can't let this thing with Vic mess up your game."

"Since when have _you_ cared about Quidditch? You don't even play!"

"Yeah, but it's your last game and we both know you'll be pissed if you let Vic distract you from winning. She'll still be there when the game is over."

"Fine," Teddy muttered, heading for the bathroom, "But I'm telling her right after the game."

"Be my guest."

* * *

Victoire was sitting at the Gryffindor table with the rest of the team when Teddy arrived. He sat down quickly next to Henry Carmichael, rather than in the seat which Victoire had saved for him. She sent him a questioning look, and was even more affronted when he did not return her gaze. She'd thought everything was good between them, and over the last few days it _had_ been, so why was he ignoring her?

Victoire spent most of breakfast trying and failing to catch Teddy's eye, while he tried just as adamantly to avoid her gaze. He just didn't think he could look her in the face after his recent epiphany and not tell her right then and there that he loved her, which, having had more time to reflect on it, was _definitely_ a bad idea before the match. He could see her getting more and more frustrated with him every time he chanced a glance at her out of the corner of his eyes, and he felt guilty, but not quite guilty enough to make himself meet her gaze.

About fifteen minutes later, though it felt much longer to Teddy and Victoire, Henry said it would probably be better if they all went down to the pitch a little early, and they stood up, each in a quite state of thought while contemplating the upcoming match.

When they reached the changing rooms Henry began his pre-match pep talk.

"Alright guys, this is our last chance, _my_ last chance, to win the Quidditch cup and I _know_ we can do it! Aaron, Teddy, you and I are in the same boat: none of us is ever gonna get another shot at this, and the rest of you guys owe it to us and to yourselves to win this match! Michael," he turned to Teddy's fellow beater, "You're gonna be captain next year," none of them bothered telling Henry that the captaincy wasn't set in stone because _everyone_ knew that it was. Michael was the best beater Gryffindor had seen since the Weasley twins, and that was just by himself, "Start your career off with a victory under your belt. I know you guys have it in you, so let's go out there and win this game! Hands in!"

As they filed out onto the pitch, Teddy and Victoire stopped at the door, the last two to go out.

"You ready?" she asked quietly, glad he was looking at her again. "It's now or never."

Though Teddy knew that her words were referring to the match they rang inside his head and as she made to step out onto the pitch he grabbed hold of her arm to pull her back.

She looked at him questioningly, but before she could say anything he said, "I love you."

And then he strode onto the pitch without looking back.

**So, I'm hoping the next chapter will be up faster than this one, but I'm just not feeling terribly inspired right now. Still, reviews always get me motivated, so _please_ leave some!**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	11. Infuriating

**Hey guys! I'm _so so SO_ sorry this took so long to upload, but I had a lot more trouble with this chapter than I thought I would. It took me a while to decided how I wanted things to play out, and then I kept changing my mind, and re-writing it, and it was basically agony. But, I think it was worth it, and I'm really proud of the chapter, so enjoy!**

Victoire froze for a moment, her head spinning. It took her a second to remember where she was and what she was supposed to be doing, but once she did she strode out onto the pitch in determination. She did not look at Teddy, afraid of what she might see.

She was so angry at him. What was he _thinking_? Telling her that right before a match! Had he lost his mind? She knew that she'd now spend the entire match debating what exactly he had meant inside her head and she _so_ did not need that. She also had the urge to laugh at herself and at this somewhat irrational anger.

As the whistle blew and they took to the sky she moved in formation with her other chasers, letting her muscles do all of the work and her instincts and reflexes take over. That did not stop her from thinking about Teddy. Had he really meant that? Why would he say it if he didn't mean it? Did he mean it in the 'just friends' way? That would be just her luck. Why on Earth had he decided to say it when he did?

She decided to ignore Teddy and keep her mind solely on the game, but it wasn't quite that simple. Every time she managed to forget him he'd soar by her chasing a bludger and she'd remember all over again.

Despite Victoire's distraction, the game was going very well. Teddy hit a bludger towards Ravenclaw's keeper, making him duck and giving Victoire and opening to score, which she managed to do, making the score 140 to 60. As he soared around the pitch, looking for his next victim he felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, one that he'd been carrying for longer than he'd realized. He couldn't pinpoint the moment when he'd fallen in love with Victoire or the moment when he'd realized it. He knew that some part of his subconscious had known for a while and it was that part of him that made him hate all of her boyfriends and made him stare at her for too long. During the time they hadn't been speaking to each other was when it became the most obvious to him, though he still wasn't ready to admit it to himself, let alone anyone else. He supposed he had been rather thick about it all, though he'd never say that within fifty feet of Matt. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction. A part of him did feel a little guilty about shifting the weight from his shoulder's to Victoire's, but his relief was so huge that he didn't think much about it.

He glanced wistfully at her as she soared towards the Ravenclaw goal posts and wondered what she was thinking. There were three ways that she could deal with his statement, each less ideal than the last. What he was hoping for was for her to tell him that she loved him too. He thought she did, but a part of him just wondered if he'd been listening to Matt for too long and had finally cracked. The second option was for her to tell him that she didn't feel that way about him and that they couldn't be friends if he felt that way. That would be painful, but he conceded that he would then, at least, have the chance to get over her properly. The third option, the one that would be most difficult for him and the easiest for Victoire would be for her to ignore what he said. He desperately hoped she didn't do that because he would have to see her every day knowing that she didn't feel the same way and being unable to get over her.

Needless to say he was hoping for option 1.

As the game progressed they continued to have the lead, but there still had not been a sign of the snitch, or even a false alarm. Teddy was taking aim at one of Ravenclaw's chasers when the commentators voice rang out: "And the Gryffindor seeker Lauren Wesley has the snitch! Didn't see that one comin', did you? Right out o' nowhere and GRYFFINDOR WINS! 340 to 110! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

Everyone was taken aback by this sudden victory, for no one had seen it coming or even seen when Wesley had spotted the snitch. Once everyone went out of shock, the Gryffindor supporters cheered and shouted as the team returned to the ground. They hugged one another and cheered along with the crowd, beaming when Professor McGonagall handed Henry Carmichael the Quidditch cup.

Teddy was separated from Victoire by most of the team as they all surrounded Henry, but he got the distinct impression that she was avoiding him, a thought which made his stomach churn. As the team began to head back to the changing rooms he considered calling out to her, but decided to wait and see what she would do. The quaffle was on her side of the pitch, and now it was her job to do something with it.

They changed amidst the laughter and rejoicing of their teammates, but neither had left the changing room after they'd changed out of their robes. They both seemed to sense that the other would be waiting for them.

When the door finally swung shut behind Aaron, Victoire was fumbling around in her bag, avoiding Teddy's constant gaze.

After a moment she took a deep breath, raised herself up to her whole height, and approached him slowly and deliberately.

Teddy knew that this was the moment. She was going to do one of three things, and it didn't look like it would be the one he wanted either. He braced himself for the heartache.

However, Teddy had been wrong when assuming that Victoire only had three options for reactions. There was, in fact, a four option, and that was the one she chose. Without breaking step, she walked right up to him and slapped him hard across the face.

"What the _bloody_ hell was that for?" he bellowed, his hand flying to his left cheek, which stung.

"I should be asking you the same thing!" she said, "What was _that_?"

"What was _what_?" asked Teddy, though he already knew the answer.

"Before the match! Did you _want_ me to blow it?" she asked, glaring at him, "I spent the entire match thinking about what you said, and what you meant, and what _I_ should say, and what I should _do_, and all the while I was trying desperately to keep focused, but it was impossible with you flying by me every twenty seconds! What were you _thinking_?"

Teddy ignored her question, and asked one of his own instead, "What do you _want_ me to have meant?"

"No! No, no, no, no, _no_, you are _so_ not getting out of answering me that quickly. I want to you tell me what you meant," she said, still outraged.

"I meant what I said," he said, with an attempt at a nonchalant shrug. He knew it wasn't a very helpful answer, but he wasn't trying to be helpful, he was trying to figure out how she felt without risking anything more than he'd already risked.

"You are so-so-_so_," Victoire cast around, as if expecting a word that could adequately express her anger and outrage to appear out of thin air. When no such work appeared she settled for "_Infuriating!_"

"Oh, you're one to call _me_ infuriating," said Teddy, his own temper alighting, "I took a risk and told you exactly what I felt, and you're standing here yelling at me for not saying what I mean when you aren't saying what you mean either! It's bloody hypocritical!"

Victoire glared at him, unsure of how to respond. After a moment of silence, much to Teddy's surprise, she actually began to _laugh_. She realized that if Teddy had meant what she wanted him to mean, than she was wasting an awful lot of time fighting with him about it, and if he _didn't_ mean what she hoped he meant, she was only postponing the inevitable by continuing the argument.

"Vic, what are you-"

However Teddy didn't get to finish his question, as Victoire lunged forward and kissed him full on the mouth.

**So, I just wanted to apologize again for the long wait, but this chapter gave me a _lot_ of trouble, and I actually re-wrote it 10 or 12 times before I got to this point. Please review and tell me what you thought and what you're expecting/hoping for the rest of the story (there's not much more to go...).**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
**


	12. Dancing and Secrets

**I'm disgusted with myself for making you all wait so long. It's inexcusable and I am _so SORRY_. I really like this chapter though and I hope you guys do too. Enjoy!**

When Victoire awoke it took her a moment to figure out where she was and another moment to remember how she'd gotten there. She was on one of the couches in the common room, leaning against Teddy who in turn was leaning against the arm of the couch, and for a moment she couldn't figure out why she felt differently than she normally did when waking up after a night of talking with him. However, after a few seconds the memories of the previous day came flooding back into her mind. She grinned in spite of herself, brushing some of her hair out of her face and sitting up properly, noticing as she did so that Teddy's arm was secure around her waist.

She glanced around the common room, noticing that it was barely light outside, and finally located a clock, which read 6:40. She let out a sigh, and was about to curl up and go back to sleep when Teddy's arm tightened around her as he groaned, slowly opening his eyes.

"Morning" he yawned, sitting up properly, but keeping his arm around her waist as he did so.

"Morning," she replied quietly with a small smile.

Suddenly, without warning, he kissed her.

As they broke apart she whispered, "Why'd you do that?"

"Because I can," he said with her favorite smirk.

She rolled her eyes, "You're such a child."

"I know," he said with an easy grin, leaning in again, so that their lips were almost touching, and whispering, "But you know what?"

She shook her head, keeping her eyes locked on his.

"That's why you love me!" And without warning he pulled back and stood up, leaving her frozen on the couch.

"You, you-" she said, laughing as she stood up, "You're impossible."

And now he was laughing too.

"What do you say," he asked, strolling over to the wireless, "To a dance?" He was feeling positively light-headed, and it was a strange and overpowering experience to say the least.

"What? Teddy, we're in the middle of the common room! Someone'll be down any minute," she said incredulously, still laughing as he switched it on.

"At 6:40 on a Sunday morning?" he asked skeptically, "Who in their right mind would be up right now?"

She laughed, taking his hand as they began to waltz around the room, laughing as they did so.

After a few minutes the song changed to one much slower, and as they too adjusted their speed, Victoire's arms around Teddy's neck and his hands finding their way to her waist.

"Teddy," Victoire whispered after a moment.

"Yeah?" he replied, whispering too.

"I love you."

She wasn't sure why she'd sait it then. By all accounts she should've said it when they were joking, or when they were teasing each other, or when they were bickering because it was during those times that she had truly begun to love him. Somehow, though, this moment, so calm and peaceful, had seemed perfect in its own way _because_ it was different.

Teddy's eye's widened for a split second before his lips found her's. After a moment he pulled away and whispered, "I love you too, Vic."

Teddy wasn't sure how long they'd been standing there kissing when a voice said, "Oh God, not this early in the morning, please."

They broke apart, though Teddy's arms remained around Victoire's waist and hers around his neck, Victoire embarrassed and Teddy irritated to see Matt at the foot of the stairs that led to the boys' dormitory.

"What are you doing down here this early in the morning then?" Teddy said irritably.

"I was trying to be a good friend and wake you guys up so you had time to get ready before the rest of Gryffindor found you, but I can see my efforts were wasted."

Teddy rolled his eyes at Matt's martyred expression.

"I suppose we'd better go get changed," said Victoire, extricating herself from Teddy and glancing down at her jeans and tee-shirt, which were distinctly wrinkled. "I'll see you both at breakfast then."

She went upstairs, sparing Matt no more than a halfhearted glare. She was irritated by his interruption now that she'd gotten over the embarrassment of it, but that didn't mean that she couldn't see the necessity of it, for if he hadn't interrupted there was no knowing how long they'd have stayed down there.

As Victoire disappeared up the stairs Teddy walked towards the stairs from which Matt had come, grinning in spite of himself.

"You're unbelievable," muttered Matt, following Teddy up the stairs.

When Victoire reached her dormitory it was no surprise that all of her roommates were still asleep. She dressed quickly, and was just about to race back downstairs when a familiar voice from behind her said, "I'm not sure if I should be thrilled or nauseated right now."

Victoire turned to see Claire sitting up in bed with a smirk on her face.

"Shh," whispered Victoire, glancing around at their sleeping roommates.

"It's not as if they don't know why you never came up last night," Claire whispered back, still smirking as she got out of bed, "Now can you stay put for 30 seconds while I get dressed, or will being away from Teddy that long cause you to spontaneously combust?"

Victoire rolled her eyes, "Just get dressed." She didn't want to admit it, but she was desperately hoping that Claire would dress quickly. She knew it was rather irrational, considering that she saw Teddy every day and would see him every day until the end of term. However, that thought made her heart stop because until that moment it hadn't occurred to her that exams would be finished in a two weeks, and then Teddy go off to his auror training, and what would happen to them? She decided to put that thought away for a few more weeks, but now that she'd thought it, it would never fully disappear, but would merely hide back in the recesses of her mind, waiting for the right moment to reemerge.

As they walked down to the Great Hall at about 7:00 they joked and laughed, and for a moment Claire was able to forget what had happened the day before. However, when they reached the Gryffindor table, she noticed to her displeasure that Teddy had saved a seat for Victoire, leaving Claire to sit next to Matt, who was across from them.

"Hi," he said as she sat down.

"Hi," she replied rather moodily as Victoire and Teddy immersed themselves in their own little nauseating bubble of bliss.

"What's got you in a bad mood?" he asked, watching her watching them, "Isn't this a good thing?"

"Not from my perspective, and I don't see how it can be from yours either," she grumbled, poking at her scrambled eggs in distaste.

"Well," he said evenly, "When Vic," she raised her eyes, slightly outraged that he had adopted this nickname for her. He didn't seem to notice, or if he did he didn't say anything, "and Teddy were best friends it meant that I could never really be Teddy's best mate because Vic was his best mate, and you could never be Vic's best friend because Teddy was. Now, because they're dating, they can't really be each other's best mates in the same way, so I look at it as if our positions are just cemented."

"Ugh," she said, "You would take the optimistic view. They way I look at it, now, because they're not complaining about each other to us, they don't really need us for anything."

"Do you honestly think Vic'll desert you?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Fine," she sighed in defeat, "No. I just...I don't want to lose her. Because, if we were to grow apart she's still got Teddy," she couldn't help the distaste that leaked into her voice when she said his name. It was too ingrained a habit, "But who've I got?"

"Well," he said slowly, causing her to look up at him, "Are we friends?"

"I suppose so," she said slowly, still looking at him.

"Well then," he said brightly, "You've got me then, don't you?"

She smiled, turning towards her food with much more gusto.

* * *

A few hours later found the four of them sitting at a table in the Gryffindor common room studying.

Matt and Teddy were anxiously reviewing for their Charms N.E.W.T., which was a week from the following day, and Victoire and Claire were reviewing for their exams, which also began a week from that Monday.

After about an hour and a half of studying, Victoire threw down her book in disgust and said, "I give up! I'll just fail my exams rather than spend another minute looking at this!"

"Victoire Weasley defeated by a class?" asked Teddy incredulously, poking her in the ribs lightly with his pencil, "Tsk, tsk."

"Oh, shut up," she said, elbowing him, "It's Arithmancy, which is the hardest subject there is!"

"Uh, no," said Teddy, "I believe that would be Ancient Runes."

"Are you crazy? It's obviously Arithmancy."

"Runes."

"Arithmancy."

"Runes."

"Arithmancy."

"Runes."

"Arithmancy."

Before their pointless argument could get any further, Claire said, "You know, I've got to agree with Lupin, Ancient Runes is a harder class."

"Thank you," said Teddy, inclining his head, "For seeing sense, unlike _some_ people," he looked pointedly at Victoire.

Victoire, however, was no longer looking at him, but looking open-mouthed at Claire. She looked at her for a moment before turning to Matt and saying, in a tone of mock wonder, "Did they just agree on something?"

"I think they did," replied Matt in the same tone.

"Oh shut up," said Claire, "You're just sour because we're right."

"We?" Victoire raised an eyebrow, "Who's we? You guys are a 'we' now?"

Teddy and Claire both rolled their eyes.

"This is scary mate," said Matt.

Claire elbowed him.

* * *

Exam week had finished, which left a few uninterrupted days of term before they all returned home for the summer. Victoire was growing more and more uneasy as she thought of summer's end and her return to Hogwarts while Teddy went away for training. However, she was careful not to let Teddy know what she was thinking because she didn't want to worry him. On the evening after their last exam she was confiding her fears to Claire. They were alone in the dormitory, and Victoire found it to be a perfect opportunity to relay her concerns to her friend. However, she was getting more and more upset with each word.

"And I'm worried that while he's at training he'll meet some stunningly fabulous girl who's smart and beautiful and _perfect_, and then he'll forget all about me! And, of course, if that happens we could never be friends again because it would be just too awkward, not to mention it would kill me to see him with her all the time, but then I'll have lost my best friend in the whole world."

As Victoire paused to draw breath, she realized that Claire hadn't spoken in a full five minutes, and normally by now she'd have told Victoire not to worry and expressed her indignation (only half-jokingly) that _she_ wasn't Victoire's best friend in the whole world. Seeing as Claire had done neither, and indeed done nothing but look at the bedspread contemplatively, Victoire knew something was wrong.

"Okay, what's up?" she asked, stopping pacing, which she'd been doing for the past several minutes, and standing in front of Claire, her hands on her hips.

Claire, who'd been lying on her stomach unmovingly for most of the conversation, looked up in a dazed way and said "What?"

"I said, 'What's up?' You haven't said anything and I've been ranting for a good ten minutes."

"Oh, sorry," she shrugged, "I was just thinking..."

"About?" asked Victoire, sitting criss-cross on the bed.

Claire sat up and crossed her legs too, "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to laugh and not to tell _anyone_. Least of all Teddy." Victoire began to speak, but Claire cut her off, "And before you say that you tell Teddy everything I'd like to remind you that you didn't tell him you liked him for weeks after you finally figured it out, so you can keep this secret from him too."

"Fine," Victoire said with a melodramatic sigh, "But I can't promise I won't laugh. It's sounding like it'll be pretty funny."

"Hmph," Claire said before she flopped down face-first onto the pillow and said, "It's just so _embarrassing_!"

"You've failed to tell me _what_ is so embarrassing!" Victoire said, getting more than slightly annoyed, "Spit it out!"

"It's stupid because he's the _wrong_ boy for me to like..." she said, still into her pillow.

"_Who_?" aked Victoire testily.

"Can't you tell?" asked Claire, sitting up, "I thought it was pretty obvious."

"Well, you thought wrong," Victoire replied irritably.

"I'm not telling you who," Claire said after a moment of thought, "Until I've decided what to do."

Without another word she sprang up, grabbed her towel, and headed towards the bathroom, leaving Victoire sitting, open-mouthed and indignant, on the bed.

* * *

As Victoire and Claire were having their conversation in the girls' dormitory, Teddy, Matt, and Henry Carmichael were all beginning to get their trunks packed (a little early, especially for boys, but they were feeling more productive than usual).

"Teddy, did you take my Falcons poster?" Matt asked, from under the bed, where he was currently rummaging.

"Why would I _want_ it? They've got to be the worst team in England!" Teddy said with an eye-roll as he folded a pair of his pajama pants.

"Hey, I think The Harpies might be worse than them," said Henry fairly.

"Sexist much?" Teddy asked, "The Harpies have beaten every team they've played this year! You're probably just jealous that you can't join."

Henry rolled his eyes and returned to sorting through his books.

After a few minutes of silence Henry said, "Hey Teddy, you know Victoire's friend, the little brunette one?"

Teddy barely glanced up from the pile of socks he was attempting to sort as he said, "Claire? Yeah, I know her."

Both boys failed to notice that Matt, who was still under the bed, had frozen.

"Do you think she'd go out with me?"

Matt jerked up in shock only to hit his head on the bottom of the bed. He pulled himself out, clutching the back of his head and swearing. Teddy spared him a smirk, realizing that he wasn't really hurt, and Henry gave an amused smile, but kept his attention on Teddy.

Teddy had to resist the urge to say that he didn't see why Henry would _want_ to go out with Claire. Over the last two weeks, and indeed, ever since he'd found her crying behind the tapestry, his relationship with Claire had changed, and he would almost call them friends now. They were able to hang out when Victoire and Matt were there, and they even sided with each other and joked amicably. Yes, he supposed they were now friends, but he still liked to pretend that he hated her. It'd become something of a joke between the two. They still liked to throw insults at each other, but both knew it was only a joke.

"Well," he contemplated, "I think she probably would. I mean, I'm not exactly sure what kind of guys she likes..."

"Could you ask Victoire?" Henry persisted.

"Sure," Teddy shrugged.

"Why the sudden interest in Claire?" asked Matt, who'd picked himself up off the floor by now, in a tone that was neither unfriendly nor friendly.

"Well," said Henry, failing to pick up on Matt's tone, "She's cute, and from what I can tell she's pretty funny, in a cynical way."

"When have you ever talked to her?" asked Matt, now using a decidedly unfriendly tone.

"A few times," he shrugged, either not noticing or not acknowledging Matt's tone, before turning back to Teddy, "Anyway, will you ask Victoire?"

"Better yet," said Teddy, gazing at Matt and trying to hold in the laughter that was threatening to burst from his lips, "I'll just ask her next time I see her."

"Thanks, mate," said Henry, turning back to his books, "You haven't seen my _Advanced Potion Making_ have you? I was gonna burn it in celebration."

All three boys laughed, one very pleased with himself, one gazing at his friend in a contemplative manner, and the third laughing less heartily than the other two, gazing at his roommate as if he were summing up an opponent, and as if he didn't like what he was seeing.

**Again, I'm SO SORRY that the wait was so long. I'm feeling really inspired, so hopefully the next one will be up faster! Reviews please!**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	13. Would You Rather

**So, I was feeling SUPER inspired to write this chapter, but I'm kind of disappointed that so few people reviewed my last update, so I'm just gonna pray more people review this time. Enjoy!**

Matt always woke up hungry. His wakeup time tended to correspond with when he felt hungry, and he never woke up full. So, it was no surprise, having eaten a very early dinner after his last N.E.W.T., that he awoke very early, barely 7:00, and starving. Deciding to be a good friend and _not_ wake Teddy or his other roommates, he dressed quietly and tip-toed out of the room and downstairs.

As he crossed the common room and reached the portrait hole a voice called softly, "Hey, Matt, wait up."

He turned around and saw Claire descending the last few steps leading up to the girls' dormitory. She had clearly been up for some time, as she was showered and dressed in shorts and a light tee-shirt with her hair up in a messy bun.

"You're up early," he said as he waited for her to reach him.

"Look who's talking," she said with a smirk, "I fancied some breakfast, but didn't want to wake Vic up. She can be a monster in the morning. You?"

"About the same," he said. "Care to join me?"

"Sure," she said, and they both exited through the portrait hole.

"So, how'd you think your exams went?" she asked casually as they walked down the corridor.

"Alright I think. I'm worried about history of magic, but other than that they went okay."

"Why are you taking N.E.W.T. history of magic anyway? Are in a class by yourself?" Claire joked.

"Actually, yes," he said with a small laugh, "But it's _highly_ suggested if you want to go into international magical relations."

"International magical relations?" She raised an eyebrow, "What does that even mean?"

"Basically, I'd be helping to communicate with other wizarding governments around the world to keep a cohesive international magical community. So, if there's a disaster in another nation and they need help, or if laws are drastically different between two nations and its causing conflict, we help sort stuff out. Also, there's an international court, so if someone commits crimes in more than one country they normally get tried at the international court, and—"

He stopped, afraid he'd been ranting too much. "Well, you get the idea..."

"Wow," she said, "I'd never really heard much about what they do, but it actually sounds interesting."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, "And very you. So, you have to take history of magic and what else?"

"Mostly stuff is just suggested. They like well-rounded people, so potions, herbology, transfiguration, and charms. I'm also taking ancient runes, but that's just because I'm interested in it."

"Yeah, I like runes," she said with a smile.

"So, what do you wanna do when you get out of here?" he asked as they crossed the Great Hall towards the Gryffindor table. It was no surprise that hardly anyone was up.

"I want to be a curse breaker," she said. "I love runes and defensive magic, so it's basically perfect for me."

"That's sounds cool. What do you have to take for it?"

"Well…"

* * *

When Victoire awoke she noticed right away that Claire's bed was empty. She showered and dressed more quickly than usual, but was disappointed when she reached the common room and found it empty. She thought maybe Claire had gone down to breakfast, and so she too left through the portrait hall and hurried down stairs. It wasn't even 8:30 yet, so she couldn't imagine that Claire had been up more than thirty minutes or so.

As she entered the Great Hall and walked towards the Gryffindor table she searched, but couldn't see Claire anywhere. She sat down and helped herself to some eggs, talking to her friend Susan, who was in fifth year.

About ten minutes later Teddy came and sat down next to her.

"Hey," she said, kissing him lightly before turning back to her eggs and bacon.

"Have you seen Matt?" he asked, "He wasn't in the dormitory when I woke up, so I thought he'd be here, but…"

"No," she said, raising an eyebrow, "And Claire's missing too…"

Teddy smirked.

"What?" she asked, before she gasped when she realized what he was suggesting. "No way! He's not the boy she likes, is he?"

"Well, I don't know about her, but I got the idea last night that he fancied her," Teddy said with a smirk.

"No," she said, "That doesn't make any sense…He's too nice for her."

"That's a fine thing to say about your best friend," he laughed.

"You know what I mean!" She rolled her eyes. "She's so skeptical and he's so…"

"Optimistic?" he said.

"Yeah!"

He shrugged, reaching out to pour himself some orange juice.

* * *

When they finished breakfast, Teddy and Victoire decided to go back to the common room and wait for Claire and Matt there. However, they to find Matt and Claire sitting across from each other and playing a game of chess, which Matt was losing rather horribly.

"Eat a toad liver or fail an N.E.W.T.?" Matt was asking as Claire's knight brutally murdered his bishop.

"Eat a toad liver. No contest," she replied, surveying the board. "Stay locked in a room with a Welsh Green for twelve hours or fight the Giant Squid?"

"Queen to E5. How long'd I have to fight it?"

"Same time period, if you could live that long," she smirked, "Pawn to D4."

"I guess the Welsh Green," he said, "Queen to D4."

As he watched his queen kill her pawn he realized his mistake.

"Knight to D4," she said triumphantly, and watched as his queen was brutally murdered.

"What _are_ you doing?" Victoire asked, sitting down next to Claire.

"Beating him at chess," Claire said, "And playing 'would you rather'."

"You haven't won yet," he said indignantly.

"Mate," said Teddy, plopping down on the rug, "Look at the board. All you've got left is a king, a bishop, and a couple of pawns."

"Even my Uncle Ron couldn't save this game," said Victoire appreciatively.

"Some friends you are," Matt grumbled as the other three laughed.

They spent most of the day goofing off. They went and sat out by the lake, played exploding snap, and ended up back in the common room after dinner, playing cards.

Teddy, who was feeling rather mischievous and felt he owed Matt for all the teasing he got about Victoire, said, "Claire, I was supposed to ask you, would you want to go out with Henry Carmichael?"

Claire looked up from her cards in surprise, "Captain of the Quidditch team?" she confirmed.

"Yeah," Teddy said, "He asked me to find out if you'd be interested in going out with him."

Claire deliberated while Victoire, Teddy, and Matt watched her. "Well," she said slowly, "I would've done, if he'd been man enough to ask me himself. But, seeing as he was too cowardly to, some Gryffindor," she snorted, "No."

Matt sighed audibly, causing Claire and Victoire both to look at him quizzically, while Teddy tried desperately not to laugh.

"I just realized that we don't have any more work to do for an entire summer!" he laughed, in a pretty decent attempt to cover up the real reason behind his sigh.

"Thank the Lord," Claire said, leaning back on the couch, leaving Teddy and Victoire to look at each other.

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! You have no idea how much it helps! There's more Matt and Claire as well as Teddy and Victoire in the last few chapters, and I want some feedback. There're only four more chapters to go before the end of the stoyr and I could really use some insperation because I want them to be good.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	14. Missing Chances

**I'm very pleased with this chapter, but I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say: Enjoy!**

As Victoire sat and watched the countryside fly by out the window she considered her situation, only to realize that at this time last year she'd never have _dreamed_ she would ever be where she was now. She was sitting next to Teddy, an odd thing in and of itself, as before they could hardly ever sit together on the train due to the simple fact that he and Claire hadn't been able to get within five hundred feet of one another. Now, however, they were talking animatedly about the latest Quidditch game and which teams they were betting on for the next match. Another fact, which to some people would seem insignificant but to her was quite the opposite, was that even as Teddy leaned closer to the bech opposite them as he got more involved in the discussion, which was really still more like an argument, but an amicable one at least, he kept hold of her hand. She smiled at how familiar it felt to hold it.

She could never have imagined being this happy with her life, but the one dark spot that continued to reappear was the prospect of the next year. Victoire wanted to be an auror too, so once she was out of school she'd once again see Teddy almost every day at the training facilities, but for nine months they would be separated, hardly seeing each other more than once at Christmas and possibly again at Easter, if she wasn't too engrossed in studying for her N.E.W.T.s. She wasn't worried about him being unfaithful or anything like that, but she was worried that they'd grow apart. They were so in sync all of the time, and they knew each other's most intimate thoughts and feelings. Would that lessen over time if they no longer saw each other? They had never spoken of it, but Victoire had a hunch that Teddy had thought about it too; or maybe he genuinely wasn't worried...she hoped that was true, for if he wasn't then she didn't need to be either...at least, she hoped she didn't.

Having decided that their opinions differed too greatly to continue their discussion, Teddy and Claire had both returned to their previous activities. Teddy began to play with Victoire's fingers idly, and Claire turned to Matt, who looked up from his book, to which he'd retreated when she and Teddy began to argue.

"Would you rather..." she said slowly.

"Not again!" said Teddy, rolling his eyes, "Honestly, you two never open your mouths within two feet of each other unless it's to say 'Would you rather.'"

"_So_ untrue," said Claire, "We just happen to like the game."

"Yeah, mate," said Matt, "It's the best way to find out about people. Why settle for the boring way to get to know someone when you could do something so much more interesting and creative?"

"Why indeed?" asked Victoire sarcastically, leaning her head against Teddy's shoulder and letting her eyes close, but still listening to their game. She would never give Matt and Claire the satisfaction of admitting it, but she actually enjoyed listening to them play because she _did_ find out more about Matt that way, and even Claire was able to surprise her occasionally. After all, though she and Claire had been friends since first year, and she and Teddy obviously much longer even than that, she had only known Matt as Teddy's optimistic, well-meaning best friend. Now that they were so often in each other's company, she wanted to know more about him, just like Claire did. Though, she suspected that Claire wanted to get to know him better for _other _reasons unrelated to friendship. She smirked, her eyes still closed.

"What's the joke?" Teddy whispered in her ear. She could still hear Matt and Claire playing, and knew he'd spoken quietly because he'd suspected that they were the subject of the joke that she was so enjoying.

"I was just thinking," she whispered, her eyes still shut, "About _why_ Matt and Claire are so determined to get to know one another."

She felt Teddy shaking under her and realized that he was chuckling silently, so as not to attract Matt and Claire's attention.

However, Matt and Claire were so engrossed in their game that they would hardly have noticed if Teddy had started screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Eat a mandrake or kiss the giant squid?" Matt asked.

"Can you even eat mandrakes?"

"You'd have to find out, wouldn't you?"

"Hm..." Claire deliberated carefully, "I suppose kiss the giant squid then."

"Ugh," Matt said in disgust.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but I actually _mind_ dying, call me crazy," she said sarcastically.

She smiled as he laughed.

"So, tell McGonagall to her face that you think her Christmas hat is hideous or rig a Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch game in Slytherin's favor?"

"Rig the Quidditch game," he said without missing a beat.

Claire raised an eyebrow and said, "Is that because you're too nice to ever say anything that mean to anyone or because you're afraid of all the detentions you'd get?"

"Both," he said with a nonchalant shrug, "But mostly the detentions bit. I'm not quite as nice as you seem to think I am, you know."

"You forget that Victoire has been my constant companion for the past six years and that I'm not particularly nice myself, so by my standards you're _very_ nice. I can't imagine how you've stayed that nice, being friends with Teddy and all."

"It wasn't easy," Matt smirked, before he laughed and said, "See! Now, _that_ wasn't very nice at all."

Claire rolled her eyes, "Please. That was positively benevolent. Your turn."

Matt paused, thinking. A sudden idea had struck him. An awful, horrible, desperately tempting idea. It would be so simple, and pretty damn clever in his opinion, but it also had the potential to be the stupidest thing he'd ever done in his life.

Well, he was a Gryffindor for a reason, and he summoned his Gryffindor courage and said, "Would you rather be in a long-distance relationship with someone or miss your chance to be with him forever?"

Victoire's eyes snapped open. Teddy stopped playing with her fingers, as he had been doing for the past several minutes. It seemed as if all four of them had frozen in response to his words.

Matt was suddenly aware of Victoire and Teddy's presence, which he'd forgotten, having been so engrossed in the game. Now, he suddenly wished he hadn't said anything.

Claire, bit her lip, thinking. She knew immediately what he was asking and what she wanted to tell him, but still she hesitated, sparing half a glance towards Vic and biting her lip.

Teddy and Victoire noticed their respective best friends' discomfort at their continued presence, and while Teddy was ready to ignore it and watch the proceedings, Victoire had other ideas.

"I think I hear the trolley," she said, pulling Teddy up and out of the compartment. It had been less than three seconds since Matt had spoken, but it felt like it took an eternity for them to get out of the compartment.

As the door slid shut Teddy whispered incredulously, "What are you doing?"

"I think they deserve a little privacy," replied Victoire with dignity, pulling him around the corner, as he was now trying to see through the fogged glass.

"Privacy my arse," he said, "I want to know what she says!"

"We will in a few minutes, but it's much better to let them sort it out themselves!"

"I wasn't going to interfere," he pointed out.

"Without an audience!" she stressed, "It's sure to be awkward enough without us goggling at them."

"Well, for your information Victoire _I_ don't goggle, so the only goggler in that scenario would be _you_."

She rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored his antics and stood firmly between him and the corner, so that he had no opportunity to peek in at them or listen in.

They decided, rather than stand outside in the corridor, that they would make a trip down the compartment to see James and his friends. Teddy had always had a soft spot for James, even though he was so much younger, and Victoire found him amusing most of the time, accept, of course, when he was being a pratt.

Having spent a good ten or fifteen minutes with James and his fellow first years, Victoire deemed it safe to return to their compartment. With growing trepidation, they first stopped outside the door to listen, and then, hearing nothing, slid it open carefully.

They were shocked to see Claire sitting _alone_, her knees pulled into her chest as she gazed unseeing out the window. She didn't seem to hear, or else felt no need to acknowledge, their entrance, and instead continued to stare outside, where it had begun to drizzle.

Victoire looked at Teddy, who looked back at her for a moment, before the both nodded, and without a word Teddy left, sliding the door closed behind him, in search of Matt while Victoire sat down quietly opposite Claire, who still had not acknowledged her presence.

"Claire?" she asked cautiously.

"I suppose you and Teddy were _dying_ with curiosity," she said in a lifeless voice, still looking out of the window.

"What happened?"

"I'd rather miss my chance," she said through barely-moving lips.

"But, I thought you liked him," Victoire said in confusion.

"I do."

"But?"

"But this is really painful, and it would only be more painful if I'd answered the other way." Turning to look at Victoire for the first time, Claire saw the look of confusion on her face and continued, "I mean, not at first, but then when I go back to school we'd have to break up, and that would hurt even more because we'd be attached to each other. That would ten times as painful as this. Or, still worse, if we tried to keep it going long-distance eventually we'd grow apart and resent each other, and then not only would ending it be more painful, but we also wouldn't have any good memories left of each other. Don't you see Vic?" She was pleading with her eyes, begging Victorie to understand and not to judge her, "This is so much simpler."

Victoire's head was swimming. She knew that Claire didn't realize the enormity of her words, and was glad she didn't because if she had she wouldn't have spoken her mind. Struggling to keep her head in the conversation she asked, "Did you tell him any of that?"

She shook her head, "He left too fast. Anyway, why would I want to make this as painful for him as it is for me? As long as he thinks I don't like him, this won't hurt him as much or as long."

Victoire sat in silence, looking at Claire who continued to stare out of the window.

They passed the rest of the journey in silence, each consumed with her own, private thoughts.

When the train slowed to a stop, Claire collected her things very quickly, so as not to have to see Matt when he came to get his trunk, which still sat next to hers above the seat. She did her best not to look at it.

They hugged briefly and promised to see each other at some point during the summer and to write often, and with that Claire was gone.

Victoire stood alone in the compartment, gazing about, biting her lip in thought. Every reason that Claire had presented for acting the way that she did had been reasonable, and that scared Victoire more than anything because if it was reasonable to suppose that continuing a long-distance relationship would be painful for Matt in Claire, wouldn't it also be reasonable to believe that it would be for her and Teddy? She liked to think not because, after all, she and Teddy knew each other so much more intimately than Matt and Claire did, but all the same the possibility was very real.

She began to take her things down when the door slid open and Teddy came in, followed by a wary Matt. Open seeing that Claire was not there, Matt took his trunk, said a short goodbye to Teddy and said he would see him that weekend to pick an apartment; he and Teddy were going to live together, as neither of them could afford a place of their own. He didn't even glance at Victoire as he left.

"How is he?" she asked quietly as Teddy took his trunk down and helped her with hers.

"Not great," he said darkly, pulling his trunk out of the compartment and stepping to the side to let her through. They were some of the last left on the train, so they were quite alone in the corridor.

"She barely spoke to me," Victoire said sullenly.

"Did she give any reason? Did she say _anything _at all about why?" he asked hopeless.

Victoire thought for a fraction of a second before she said, "No."

**I know that this isn't exactly what everyone was hoping for, but things don't always turn out perfectly and this isn't the end of the story, so there's always the possibility of things getting better...Reviews, as always, are appreciated.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	15. Decisions

**Another update for you, and pretty dramatic if I say so myself. Enjoy!**

Victoire spent the summer caught in a flurry of happiness, worry, and indecision. She spent 25% of her time with Teddy worrying about what would happen when the summer ended and 50% of her time with him scolding herself for wasting her precious time with him by worrying, so that she only enjoyed one fourth of the time she spent with him, and when she wasn't with him it was almost all she could think about, and when she wasn't thinking about what to do when summer ended she was angry at herself for spending so much time worrying about it.

What made her situation, if possible, worse was the fact that she had no one to confide in. She couldn't really talk to her family about it because, though they were close, she was terrified that the problem would sound stupid if she voiced it to any of them. Her sister, Dominique, would gush about how _unromantic_ Victoire was being for doubting Teddy, her brother, Louis, would offer to beat Teddy up but have no real insight, and her parents would probably laugh and think the whole thing was rather silly. At least, that's what she thought would happen if she confided in any of them. Worst of all: she couldn't tell Teddy about it. She had always told Teddy everything. Since they'd been toddlers he'd known nearly every intimate detail of her life, but she couldn't talk to him about this. Though she knew that eventually she'd have to, she was putting it off because that conversation would force her into a decision that she wasn't ready to make: did she think they should break up when the summer ended?

Of course, the person she would've naturally told all of these things was Claire, but that was even more out of the question than talking to Teddy. Victoire found herself growing more and more resentful of Claire every time she saw her, and more and more guilty because of this newfound resentment. Claire had never been one to mope, and after about a week of listlessness she'd rallied and decided that she wasn't going to regret her choice on the Hogwarts Express. She'd gone back to being her normal self with very few relapses into moroseness.

When Victoire had mustered up the courage to ask Claire about it she had simply said, "There's this thing my mum says all the time: 'Whenever I make a decision, I make it and promptly forget it. It's not so much the decision that counts, the the will to never regret it.' I made my decision that day on the train, and there's no turning back now, whether I'd like to or not, so there's no point in dwelling on it." And with a shrug she'd gone back to her magazine.

At the beginning of July Claire went out with a Hufflepuff in their year named Alex, and after a few dates found herself hopelessly infatuated. She was _happy_. She could talk about Matt without any remorse, and she gushed endlessly about how much she liked Alex. And Victoire, despite her best attempts to be happy for Claire, couldn't be.

It had taken Matt a little longer to rally than it had taken Claire, and for the first few weeks of summer Victoire hadn't been able to come over to his and Teddy's flat at all because it reminded him of Claire. Gradually, however, he too began to move on and was his usual, cheerful self whenever he saw her. This also infuriated her to no end.

In early August Victoire found herself, as she did on most days, at Teddy and Matt's flat. They were just hanging out when Victoire got up to get drinks and said to Matt, "Would you rather have butterbeer or pumpkin juice?"

She and Teddy both flinched at her slip of the tongue. Ever since the trip on the Hogwarts Express any untterence of the words 'Would your rather' were met with bouts depression from Matt.

However, Matt simply said, "Butterbeer. You Teddy?"

"Um-" Teddy was completely thrown off by this response, or lack thereof, and stuttered as he said, "Uh, yeah, butterbeer's great, Vic. Thanks."

Matt had been completely unaffected by Victoire's words, and this made Victoire angrier than ever.

Matt left soon after to go out with his sister to lunch, at which point Teddy said, "I can't believe it. He didn't even flinch!"

"I know," Victoire said rather testily. She couldn't muster up any energy to feign happiness, and she certainly wasn't feeling any genuinely.

"I can't believe how quickly he's gotten over it," Teddy mused, "And Claire's got Alex, so she's doing fine as well."

"Yeah. But," Victoire was searching desperately for a reason that Matt and Claire's actions were a sign of their injuries, rather than indifference. It irritated her to no end that they were both so happy, and Teddy's happiness for them only added to her list of things that were bugging her lately. "But the way she describes him, she's basically just found herself a Matt replacement, and-and Matt," she continued quickly with new energy. This definitely sounded plausable...didn't it? "Matt was just _trying _to appear unaffected, but notice how quickly he left? He's probably getting drunk right now as we speak!"

"Vic," said Teddy uncertainly, "I don't get it, do you _want _them to be unhappy, cause that's kind of what it's sounding like..."

"Of course not!" Victoire said quickly, but she knew that was a lie. Despite how guilty it made her feel to admit it, she had been hoping desperately that Matt and Claire would spend the summer, and indeed the entire next year, in misery until they were reunited. She knew it was a horrible thing to wish for her friends, but she couldn't bear the idea of them moving on because any evidence that made Claire's decision right also made Victoire's decision _wrong_, and Victoire didn't want to admit it.

She left soon after, afraid to give any of her thoughts away to Teddy, but her efforts were nearly wasted.

All summer Teddy had noticed Victoire distancing herself from him. He felt like she was always pondering some nagging, unpleasant thought, and it hurt him more than he'd ever admit that she wasn't telling him about it. They'd always told each other everything, _everything_. He'd thought that going out would make them closer, not drive them apart, and at first it did. However, as the summer progressed he felt further from Victoire than ever before, and he hated it. Every time he resolved to talk to her about it he found himself afraid to because he had a feeling that what she was uncertain about was _him_, and that scared him more than anything else. He was starting to fear that they'd made a mistake in going out because now, if something went wrong he wouldn't just lose a girlfriend he'd lose his _best_ friend. The person he could talk to about _anything_, anytime. His Vic.

Both Teddy and Victoire found themselves reaching a breaking point by mid-August, at which time they each resolved to talk to the other, which is what had Teddy knocking on the front door of Shell Cottage one Sunday afternoon.

Fleur answered the door, not at all surprised to see Teddy.

"Teddy. It is wonderful to see you. I expect you are 'ere to see Victoire, no?"

"Yes."

"She is out back, in the garden."

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley!"

He disappeared around the side of the house while Fleur returned to the kitchen where she was preparing dinner while Bill lisented to a Quidditch match on the radio.

"Teddy?" he asked as she came back in.

"Who else?" she smirked, returning to the counter where she'd been cutting up carrots.

"I swear, we see him here more than we see Louis..."

She laughed.

Meanwhile, Teddy had gone out back into the garden to find Victoire sitting by the edge of the rocky cliff and looking out at the sea.

She turned at the sound of his aproached and smiled a small smile, closing her eyes for a moment in resolution. She'd made her decision.

"Hey Vic," he said casually, plopping down beside her.

"Hey Teddy," she replied.

They looked out at the ocean for a moment before they both spoke at once.

"Teddy I have to say something-"

"Vic, there's something I need to ask-"

They both laughed for a moment, before Victoire remembered herself and said quickly, "Me first?"

Teddy, deciding, rather cowardly he admitted, to put off the unpleasantness that was sure to come as a result of his question, said, "Sure."

"I've been doing a lot of thinking this summer," she said slowly. Teddy raised his eyebrows, it looked like she was going to tell him without him having to ask.

"I've noticed," he said.

She smiled again, the same, small, sad smile, "I had a feeling you would. You know me so well, better than anyone." She closed her eyes and a took a deep breath before she forced herself to look at him. He deserved that much. "And what I need to tell you is this: Ever since the trip back home from Hogwarts, and even before that, I've been thinking about-about us," her voice faltered, but she continued valiantly, "And about next year. And I think it would be better for us if we stopped seeing each other."

She had looked steadily at him throughout her confession, but now couldn't bear to look anymore, to see the hurt in his eyes. She turned back to the ocean.

For a moment he didn't say anything. His brain was functioning rather slowly as he digested her words. He continued to watch her as she turned back to the sea, taking deep breaths. Her eyes closed in what he recognized as resolution. He knew from the determidness that was set in her face, a familiar expression he'd seen many times before, but that had never pained him as it did now, that there was no changing her mind. She'd made her decision.

But he didn't want it to be that easy for her. He wanted her to look him in the face. He wanted her to look at him and to mean it because if she didn't mean it he knew he'd never be able to walk away, and every cell in his body was repelled by the idea of walking away from her.

"Vic," he began, but she cut him off.

"I'm sorry Tedy, but this is the way it has to be."

She still wasn't looking at him, and it was starting to tick him off. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Vic, look at me!" he commanded.

She didn't respond for a moment, and when she did turn to look at him she looked frustrated. She ran her hand through her hair and said, "Teddy, I want us to be friends, I _do_, which is why I have to do this."

"Vic, what are you talking about?"

"I wish I could explain it better."

"Then why don't you?" he asked angrily.

"Because I can't!" she nearly shouted.

"Why not?"

He was almost shouting in earnest now. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been angrier at her, or more confused. It was clear she didn't _want_ to do this, but she felt some sort of obligation to, an obligation that she couldn't or wouldn't explain. Victoire, on the other hand, was frustrated because, though she'd known he wouldn't just give up, he was putting up a fight, and she wanted him to win just as much as he did, if not more, but she knew that she had to maintain her resolve, which would slip if she wasn't careful.

She didn't answer, but instead turned back to the ocean.

He sat there fuming for a moment before he stood up swiftly and strode halfway across the back lawn, and was on the point of disapperating when he turned back to look at her. She was biting her lip, so hard that he was sure she would break the skin, and had pulled her knees up to her chest and was hugging them. But still she did not look at him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered through unmoving lips, her gaze remaining constant on the ocean.

"I'm sorry too," he muttered back. Though he was several feet away from her, he knew she could hear him, "Because I love you."

He turned on the spot, and as he disapperated her head turned quickly to look at him, and for less than a millisecond their eyes met.

As he apeared in the living room of his and Matt's flat and sunk down onto the couch he realized what her eyes had been telling him, the reason that she hadn't been able to look at him: _I love you too_.

**This chapter was very hard for me to write, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. I'm going away for a few days, so even though I'm feeling very inspired to write the next one, it probably will be a while before the next chapter comes out. I'm not sure if the next chapter is the last or if I'll have one more after that, but we're definitely coming to the end of the story. I know that most people will be kind of ticked off at me for resolving Matt and Claire's relationship the way that I did (and it is virtually resolved), but I just don't think that things always turn out the way we'd like them to in reality. I guess that's all for now, so leave a review to let me know what you think!**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	16. Reflections on the Past and Future

**This chapter is outrageously long and angsty, but I actually think it turned out rather well. Enjoy!**

Victoire hadn't been able to look at him as he'd turned to disapperate. She'd never been able to lie to him, and this was no exception. She knew that if she looked at him she'd see the truth, plain as anything: she still loved him. However, she turned just a moment too soon. She'd never be sure if it had been on purpose or not, his whispered confession that he still loved her may have caused her to look, but if it had she wasn't ready to admit it. Regardless of why or how, she'd turned in time to look into his eyes for a moment, and she both hoped and feared that he saw the truth in hers. They gazed into each other's eyes for an immesurable moment, neither looking away.

And then the moment was over, almost as if it had never been. He was gone. And she sat, unmoving, in the back garden, totally alone.

She stood up slowly, as if in a trance, and walked to the back door. She opened it and slid into the kitchen without a word. Fleur was bustling about making dinner while Bill listened to a Quidditch game on the wireless. She passed through the room like a ghost and went upstairs to her bedroom. She sat on the bed and made to gaze out of the window, only to realize that it looked out on the back garden and the sea beyond. She turned away.

Back in the kitchen both Fleur and Bill were looking at each other in concern.

"Do you think she's okay?" Bill asked slowly.

"I don't know," Fleur replied in her still-heavy French accent, "She definitely didn't seem normal, don't you agree?"

"I do," he said slowly, "She looked miserable, but resigned too...And where's Teddy?"

"Do you think zey 'ad a fight?" she asked, concerned.

"Nah," he said, dismissing the notion, "We'd have heard it, you know how Victoire is when she loses her temper, and I bet Teddy's much the same. Plus, they've never fought before. Ever."

Little did he know that they'd spent the entire previous year fighting.

"She looked as if she was going to _cry_," Fleur said, "She was biting 'er lip off, and if I didn't know 'er better I'd 'ave said zat she 'ad tears in 'er eyes. But that's impossible."

They sat in silence for a moment before Fleur shook her head quickly as if to shake the idea of her head before she turned back to Bill and said, "You 'ad better go up."

Bill sighed as a way of acknowledging the truth of his wife's words. He and Victoire had the kind of bond that can only exist between father and daughter. They understood each other on a deeper level, the same type of level on which Fleur and Louis understood each other. He knew he had to be the one to talk to her, but he was dreading it all the same. He'd noticed all summer that her mood had grown more and more thoughtful, morose even. He hadn't been prepared for it because he'd recieved a letter from her just days after she and Teddy began going out, and satisfaction and joy was present in every line. It wasn't as if her joy had completely disappeared when he saw her at the beginning of the summer holiday, it was more as if it had seeped away, so slowly that it was hardly noticable. It didn't make itself known in bouts of moodiness or depression, but in increasingly more common moments of thoughtfulness, where she'd sit on the edge of the cliff, hugging her knees and resting her chin on them, staring contemplatively into the sea as if looking for an answer; one that eluded her but was at the same time present, nagging at her, as it was clearly not the answer she wanted.

He'd noticed as she passed through the kitchen that the shadow had gone, the nagging thought was no longer there. However, he also saw that the thought had won, much to Victoire's discontent.

He was sure that no one saw these changes in Victoire. Dominique was too busy with her own fourth-year dramas and her efforts to be as sullen and teenage-like as possible. Louis was too busy contemplating the loss of contact with his new-found friends, writing letters to them and making plans to see them in Diagon Alley, insisting to anyone that would listen that he, as a rising second year student, was old enough to go on his own. He thought Fleur might have seen it sometimes, in a way that she watched Victoire on some of her more contemplative evenings, but she'd never voiced her concerns to him and he too had kept silent.

His thoughts roamed over these developments as he climbed the stairs and walked to Victoire's door, which was, unsurprisingly, shut.

He knocked, but was not surprised when she did not answer. He tried to turn the handle, only to discover that the door was locked. Normally he'd pitch a fit because she wasn't allowed to lock her door and she knew it, but he decided to let it be and instead trudged back downstairs, resolving to try again after dinner once she'd had some time to reflect on whatever it was that was distressing her.

Behind the locked door Victoire was on her bed looking at old photo albums. Starting from her infancy she'd been pictured with her many cousins, her aunts and uncles, and with _him_. She had more photos of them together than she had of herself with any other relative, including her own father. As toddlers they ran about the yard at his house or hers, sometimes his features transforming and other times his sandy-blond hair and hazel eyes remaining visible. As children they'd learned to play Quidditch, sat next to each other during holiday dinners, and bossed the smaller children around, delighted at being the oldest kids in the family. As pre-teens they'd bickered and taunted each other, laughing over their mock-arguments and staged confrontations. As teens they'd tried to best each other at Quidditch practice, bickered still more animatedly, and revelled in their own invincibility. As she looked through the photos she saw all of this, and hoped that her next photo album would show her with him still.

She reasoned that she'd done this so that they could continue to be friends after they'd both gotten over each other. She didn't want to lose him because he was, above all, her closest friend. Her confidant in everything. The secret-keeper of her every hope and dream. She argued that she'd done what she did to _protect_ that relationship, more special to her than any other she had, but she wasn't so sure anymore.

She was gazing at a photo of them taken right after they won the last game of the year, just minutes before they'd became a couple. They were both a mess, dirt on their robes and smudged on their faces, but their grins were identical. Teddy had his arm around her and occasionally swept his hair back with his free hand or wiped some of the mudd of his face or hers. She was waving at the camera and poking him at random intervals. They looked as harmonious as ever in the photo and their eyes shone.

As she looked at the photo and let the memories of a happier time rush in and claim her, it happened. A tear fell onto the photo. She quickly brushed it away and whipped out her wand to repare the damage so that it wouldn't leave a watermark, but more tears were coming. She was so shocked that, for a moment, she didn't know what to do. She hadn't cried since the night she realized that she loved him, and she hadn't cried with sadness for as long as she could remember. Her last memories of crying were always accompanied with laughter. With Teddy. Now she was weeping, sobbing into her pillow, desperate to muffle the sounds. She felt like screaming at the sudden and foreign release of her emotions.

She threw the photo albums onto the floor. She was suddenly so angry, but it infuriated her that she couldn't figure out whom she was angry at. She couldn't be mad at Teddy, and indeed she wasn't, but she wasn't really mad at herself either because the decision had been completely rational. For a moment she was childishly and irrationally angry at Claire, but that soon passed because she knew that Claire had made the decision that was right for her.

The gap in her logic, Victoire realized then, still sobbing, was that she assumed that the right decision for Claire was automatically the right decision for her as well.

But what if...

What if it wasn't?

What if it wasn't the right decision for her? How could she possibly know now? If it was the right decision she ought to let it be. But if it wasnt' she ought to fix this mess. But, even if it was the wrong decision for her, it could still have been the right decision for Teddy. He'd been heartbroken when he left her, but who knew how he'd feel in a week or two. Maybe he'd have put it all in perspective and would be ready to return to their previous status as best friends...that would be torture greater than anything she'd experienced. To have to go back to hiding her feelings after they'd been exposed would make her suicidal, but she knew that if he did feel that way she'd have no other option because she couldn't lose his friendship. That, more than anything else, would destroy her.

By this time Victoire had run out of steam. She picked up all of the albums, righted the photographs that had been turned in their places or that had fallen out, stacked the albums one on top of the other, and placed the pile next to the bed. She picked up all of her pillows off the floor and threw them back on the bed, with a little more force than she'd intended, and flopped down onto the bed, face down.

"Why me?" she moaned into her comforter. She took a moment to scowl at the name, as she wasn't feeling remotely comforted. She heard, for the second time, a hand attempting to turn her door handle. She'd ignored her father's attempts to talk to her before, she knew it was him because only he would dare to see her when she'd retreated behind an expressly forbidden locked door, and she was perfectly content to continue ignoring him, but he had other ideas.

She heard him whisper, "_Alohomora!_", followed by the click of her door unlocking. She kept her face down on the comforter as she heard the door creak open, her father's heavy footsteps on her wood floor, and the door click shut.

"Vic," he said in a whisper, looking at her lying, face down, on the bed.

Victoire didn't move in an attempt to appear asleep, but she knew that it would do no good.

Sure enough, he crossed over to the bed and put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I know you're not asleep, so don't even try it."

"Fine," she grumbled irritably, sitting up. She ignored the urge she had to wipe her eyes, as that would draw attention to the fact that she'd been crying.

He didn't say anything, waiting for her to speak first, which also irritated her, causing her to say, "What?" rather more harshly than she'd intended to.

"What happened?"

Those two simple words opened the flood gates. Victoire was sobbing into Bill's shirt, and before he'd even registered what was happening she was rambling in between her sobs. He couldn't make much of it out, but knew that it didn't much matter. He just rocked her back and forth as she cried and stroked her hair. He was trying to mask his horror at her behavior as best he could in order to comfort her, but in truth he was distressed by it. Victoire wasn't a crier and everyone knew it. Even as a small child she'd only ever cried to get attention, never because she actually felt hurt, and by the time she was ten or eleven she'd found other ways of eliciting sympathy and had dropped the habit altogether. But now, at seventeen years old, she was weeping into his shirt without reserve.

It took her several minutes to calm down, and only after all the tears had stopped did Bill ask again, still in a calm voice, "What happened?"

"Havent' you been listening?" she shrieked, threatening to go into more hysterics, "I broke up with Teddy!"

"Why?" he asked, incredulous. He'd been prepared for a lot of things: pregnancy, terminal illness, death, but he certainly hadn't been prepared for _that_.

"I didn't _want_ to," she said scathingly, wiping her eyes, "I _had_ to."

His face darkened. What had Teddy done?

Victoire recognized the look in her father's eyes and said quickly, "It's nothing he did, he's perfect," Bill had to resist the urge to snort, but did so for the sake of his daughter's mental health. "But I still had to do it!"

"Why?" he asked. He was starting to get a little freaked out.

"It's complicated," she sighed, "He's my best friend and I don't want to lose that and if we broke up then it would be too awkward for us to be friends, and with him going away we were bound to break up and then it would be really awkward and we'd resent each other and we'd never be friends again and it would just suck."

"Is this what you've been worired about all summer? Really?" he was trying not to laugh because only Victoire could agonize over something so simple.

"Yes!" she said, "And since Claire didn't get together with Matt for the same reason and now she's fabulously happy I knew _I'd_ be happy if I broke it off early so that we could be friends but now I'm not so sure..."

"Why does the right decision for Claire have to be the right decision for you?" he asked reasonably.

Victoire bit her lip and ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

"Listen, I think you should do what _you_ want and what will make _you_ happy and what _you_ think is the best decision," he said calmly.

They sat there for a moment before Victoire's stomach growled audibly.

"We saved your dinner," he said with a smile, "Mum made steaks."

Victoire smiled in spite of herself, wiping her eyes.

* * *

Teddy sat numbly on the couch at his and Matt's flat for a while, thinking. He had been pondering Victoire's assertion that breaking up was the best thing for _them_, as in: _both_ of them. After what felt like hours he came to the conclusion that Victoire had been nervous about a long-distance relationship, and after a few more minutes he realized that Claire was the origin of the idea. Claire was a skeptic and so she would've assumed that a long-distance relationship wouldn't work out. Victoire had too much confidence in herself and in him to come up with such an idea on her own. However, he next realized that Claire probably hadn't meant for the idea to apply to him and Victoire, but to herself and Matt. Victoire had said that Claire didn't say why she'd refused Matt, but Teddy had always thought that something about that answer seemed wrong. Victoire had never been able to lie to him, and now he realized that the feeling of uncertainty he had regarding Victoire's answer that day was a result of the fact that he'd known, subconsiously, that she'd been lying.

Once Teddy felt that he fully understood Victoire's reasoning his mind turned to what he should do, if anything. Victoire must've believed that breaking up was the best thing for them or she wouldn't have done it, and he'd always trusted her judgement, so why shouldn't he now? Claire and Matt were both happy with their lives, so the decision had been right for them, but did that make it right for him and Victoire? Victoire, despite what she'd like to believe, wasn't infallible, and he knew it, so what if she was _wrong _this time? What if she'd made the wrong decision? How would he know?

A breif bit of anger flared up inside him at Victoire. Why hadn't she just talked to him about it? They could've decided together! Just as this idea occurred to him he dismissed it as he realized that she knew he would've fought it, and if she truly believed that she was making the right decision she needed him to cooperate, something he'd never have done if he'd known her reasoning.

He felt as if he'd aged ten years when Matt apparated into the flat.

He took one look at Teddy and said, "What's wrong?"

"Vic and I broke up," he said lifelessly.

Matt stared blankly for a moment before he said, "Why?"

Teddy, who didn't feel up to explaining it to Matt and who also didn't want Matt to know why Claire had refused him now that they were both so happy, merely shrugged.

However, Matt wasn't willing to let the subject drop. "Well, did you ask her?" he persisted.

"Yes."

"And?"

"She wouldn't tell me. She felt she had to, but I could tell that it isn't because she doesn't love me. I guess that should make me feel a bit better..."

"If she still loves you then why did you leave? You should still be there!" Matt encouraged. "It's barely eight, go back!"

Teddy shook his head, "She did what she thought was best."

Teddy realized as he said it that he needed to let Victoire be. Even if she was wrong, this is what she wanted to do, and he'd never been able to deny her what she wanted, even if what she wanted was his absence. He just hoped that, eventually, they could still be friends. He didn't want to lose his best friend, and as he sat there he began to wonder if them going out hadn't been a horrible idea. Even if he'd convinced her not to break it off _today_, who could say what would happen next week or next year? At least now they'd have a year apart to come to terms with their feelings and hopefully they could return to being best friends after she was done with Hogwarts. He supposed that Victoire had been hoping for the same thing when she broke it off. The picture he painted inside his head for the future was actually somewhat peaceful. As long as he was able to get over her, not that he was terribly sure that he could, his life would be perfect; Vic would still be his best friend, and he'd have endless possibilities. And even if he didn't get over her, which was probable, at least he'd know that she was happy and he wouldn't lose his best friend. He'd never really tried living with the knowledge that he loved her without telling her about it, but he figured that he could try it, and might even find himself reasonably happy. And if, by some miracle, he fell in love with someone else they could _both_ be happy. He was sure that eventually she'd get over him, so he wasn't worried for an instant about her happiness. She was bright and vivacious and intelligent and clever, and any bloke with his head on straight would be attracted to her. Of course, he'd make sure the bloke was worthy of her, maybe he'd find someone who was more worthy of her than he was, but he wouldn't try to ruin it for her. Ultimately he wanted her to be happy, even if her happiness didn't include him in exactly the way he wanted to be included. He just wanted to be there to see it, even if he could only see it as her best friend.

Teddy went to bed that night resolved to believe that, no matter how torn up he felt at the moment, the future would be better. He had to believe that, or he would surely go mad.

**I warned you, it was angsty. There's only one more chapter to go, and then possibly an epilogue (well, probably, if I'm honest with myself. I've never been able to resist an epilogue...), so please, _please_, _PLEASE_ review!**

**XOXOX**

**GossipGirlHere**


	17. Always

**The very last chapter. Enjoy!**

The future was not better in any sense of the word.

Teddy and Victoire both tried their best to rally, but found themselves moody and morose for the rest of the summer. As the new Hogwarts term approached, Victoire felt a rising sense of desperation. Something had to change or she'd go back to school miserable, but she wasn't sure what she needed to do. She wanted to know how Teddy was doing, but couldn't bear to ask anyone about him, and until she knew how he was she wouldn't know how to act. She still held a vain hope that she was the Matt and he was the Claire in this situation, and that they'd both get over it eventually, it would just take her a bit longer. It didn't help with her indecision that Matt and Claire were friends again; _just_ friends. Claire was still dating the Hufflepuff, Alex, and Matt had found a trainee for the accidental magic reversal squad with whom he was smitten. With such positive evidence in front of her Victoire could still maintain hope that her life would eventually get better. However, her father's words still rang in her head: just because things were going well for Claire didn't mean they'd go well for her. The thought haunted her.

As Victoire grew more and more indecisive, Teddy grew more resolved. He'd been wrong the day that she'd broken it off, just as she had been wrong. They could never be 'just friends.' Maybe they'd have a rough time of it during her last year at Hogwarts, but he had faith that they'd pull through. He knew all of this, and now just needed to decide when to make his move. What was stopping him was fear. What if she'd moved on? What if his attachment to her went beyond 'just friends' but hers did not? That idea made him cringe. However, in spite of his fears he decided that he would see her and tell her exactly what he felt and what he wanted.

He chose the day with great care. It was the day of her return to Hogwarts. Nearly two weeks since they'd broken up, and he still hadn't seen her since that day. He'd chosen September 1st because if things didn't go well she'd be whisked off to Hogwarts, creating a nice bit of seperation to help him attempt to get over her. During the summer there were dinners at the Burrow that he'd had to avoid, visits from her many cousins that reminded him of her, not to mention comments from Harry regarding his new status as 'single.' With her back at Hogwarts he hoped that all of those pressures would stop. Of course, he was still praying that she'd already realized that she had been wrong and would be ready to try again.

So, on September 1st he went to Platform 9 3/4 on the pretext of seeing James off for his second year and Albus off for his first, but didn't actually bother looking for them when he arrived. He wove in and out of the crowd, searching for a familiar head of strawberry blond hair. He saw Claire first, saying goodbye to her parents and pulling her trunk onto the train with the help of a tall, muscled blond that Teddy vaguely remembered as playing on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. He supposed the boy must be Alex.

"Hey Claire!" he called while he was still a few yards away so that she wouldn't disappear onto the train.

"Teddy?" she checked, turning to look at him, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Vic," he said, "Do you know where she is?"

Claire's eyes widened a tiny bit and she smirked. She'd known that Teddy and Victoire wouldn't be able to stay away from each other for long, and she had been trying to convince Victoire to talk to him since the day after they broke up. Victoire hadn't told her why they'd split up, but she felt that it was surely something stupid, so she was relieved that Teddy had come to see Victoire.

"She's over there, saying goodbye to her parents," Claire said, pointing her out several yards away. He recognized the strawberry blond hair immediately, even if he coudn't see her face as she hugged her mother.

He watched from a safe distance as Louis and Dominique left to get on the train while Victoire embraced her father, before she turned and made for the train. She was heading for a door farther down the train, and he hurried to intercept her.

She didn't see him at first, as her trunk was giving her some trouble, but when she looked up and saw him she stopped short.

"Teddy?"

"Hey Vic," he said quietly, taking the trunk from her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Listen, I couldn't let you go away without telling you this," he took a deep breath to steady his breathing. She was looking at him, her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide in shock, and the shadow of hunger and desperation in the blue orbs he so loved. "I'm still in love with you. I said it that day but I'm going to say it again to make sure you hear it. I know why you broke it off. I know that you're scared of this year apart, and I'm scared too, but it definitely won't work if we give up before we've even tried. We're not like Claire and Matt. We didn't just develop a sudden infatuation. This won't fade over time, at least not on my side. We're Teddy and Vic. Vic and Teddy. We're best friends, and we always will be, but can't you tell that we're meant for more than that? We've laughed till we've cried, we read each other's minds, finish each other's sentences, know each other's every thought, every dream, every fear. I'm never going to be as close to anyone as I am to you and I'm never going to love anyone the way that I love you. And-"

Teddy broke off at the sudden realization that Victoire was _crying_.

"Are you crying?" he whispered, lurching forward. They were so close that another inch and their lips would've met.

She nodded, wiping her eyes, "I know," she laughed, "It's crazy..."

He reached up slowly and wiped away the tears on her cheek with his thumb. He kept his hand resting on her cheek, gazing into her eyes. And the blue and the hazel eyes spoke to each other, as they'd always been able to do. She was telling him that she loved him, that she was sorry, that she'd been desperate, that she'd missed him. She didn't need to say it for him to understand. Their relationship was such that they didn't need to say things for them to be heard. He understood it all. He'd always be able to understand it all when it came to Victoire.

She leaned forward the extra inch.

Victoire felt bliss consume her entire being, her very soul. She'd been wrong. She knew she'd been wrong now. She'd been stupid, she'd been afraid, she'd been _wrong_. None of her reasons were valid, and she saw that now. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself closer to him.

Suddenly, the annoying voice of her twelve-year-old cousin, James, broke through the little bubble of heaven they'd created for themselves.

"Oi! What _are _you doing?"

Teddy pulled away slightly, rolling his eyes in irritation and exasperation, "What does it look like? I'm seeing Vic off."

"I thought you were here to see us off!" James said indignantly.

Teddy shrugged, "Change in plans."

James looked as if he was about to say something else, but Victoire cut him off, "Oh, James, just get lost, would you?"

And, without bothering to see if he'd left or not, she turned back to Teddy and kissed him again.

A few minutes later and they were interrupted _again_, this time by a much more threatening adversary: a high-pitched whistle. The train was leaving.

Teddy quickly hoisted her trunk up and helped her onto the slowly moving train, his hands lingering on her waist a bit longer than they needed to, not that she minded.

"I'll write," he said, still holding her hand as the train moved along at a sluggish speed, "Promise!"

She nodded, clutching his hand still as the train began to pick up speed. He was running to keep up with it, and several people on the platform were chuckling in amusement, including Harry, but he didn't care.

"I love you!" she called as her hand was forced away from his and the train began to speed in earnest.

She only just heard him shout, "I love you too! Always!"

**So, that's it. That's the last chapter, but there'll be an epilogue to give some more closure. It may end up being two parts, we'll see...Anway, please leave me a review and tell me what you think. The epilogue might take a little while and I'd love to know your thoughts...**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


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